CUMBERLAND — Enrollment in Allegany County’s public schools should stabilize in the next 10 years after declining steadily for decades, preliminary data analysis shows.
Enrollment in grades K-12, which decreased by 15 percent from 2000 to 2009, is projected to drop at a much slower rate — about 4 percent — between now and 2019, data shows.
“Where you’re heading is toward a much more stable enrollment within the next 10 years,” said Carl Chafin, a partner and senior planner with Eperitus, a Richmond, Va., company hired to conduct a study of Cumberland’s secondary schools. Analysts studied multiple sets of data to make projections.
“You’re going to see it start to level out,” Chafin said during Tuesday’s public meeting of the Allegany County Board of Education.
Just what that means for Cumberland’s secondary schools remains to be seen.
A committee of about two dozen citizens is working with Eperitus over the next several months to consider options for the city’s aging school buildings, including Fort Hill and Allegany high schools, the Center for Career and Technical Education and Washington and Braddock middle schools. All but Fort Hill need “major renovations” to remain operable in the next decade, Chafin said.
The committee, called the Community Resource Committee for the Utilization Study of Cumberland Secondary Schools, is scheduled to meet Jan. 25 to begin to sort through enrollment data, as well as detailed information about building conditions and how each building is being used.
Total enrollment in 2009 was 8,698, down from 10,179 in 2000, Eperitus’ preliminary report shows. In 2019, enrollment is projected to be about 8,360.
“These are the numbers the committee is really going to be gathering around and talking about as they start to make some decisions,” said Joanne Huebner, vice president of Eperitus, who with Chafin briefed the school board Tuesday night.
Committee members — then later the board — must ultimately determine whether buildings are being used to capacity and how best to configure the city’s secondary schools in the next decade.
It’s going to be a huge task, Huebner and Chafin said.
“This is really a whole lot more complex than just counting up the number of rooms and multiplying by ‘X’ number of kids,” Chafin said. “It gets complex when you start looking at what programs are we offering. And at what rate are kids signing up for them? And what does that actually look like?”
How the state looks at the data adds another layer of complexity. Eperitus plans to invite Maryland State Department of Education employees to the committee’s Feb. 8 meeting to discuss funding formulas.
“I think it’s good you’re going to do that,” said Karen Treber, board president. “We on the board understand the budget process — what the state funds, what it doesn’t fund, what it’s going to cost them, what it’s going to cost us — but it doesn’t get communicated to the public very well. There are misconceptions about why we’re able to do some things and not others.”
The committee, which is scheduled to meet Jan. 25, Feb. 8, Feb. 22 and March 15, is expected to present recommendations to the board by April. All committee meetings are open to the public and are being video recorded and placed on the Allegany County Public Schools Web site. For more information, go to boe.allconet.org and look under Utilization Study.
Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kharty@times-news.com.
Education
Preliminary school data predicts enrollment stabilization
Committee working with Virginia firm to consider options for city’s aging learning facilities
- Education
-
-
Area students named to Frostburg State University dean’s list
FROSTBURG — The following students from the area have been named to the dean’s list at Frostburg State University in recognition of outstanding academic achievement for the fall 2011 semester. To be eligible, a student must undertake a minimum of 12 credit hours and earn a cumulative semester grade-point average of at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale.
-
Allegany College of Maryland names dean’s list students
CUMBERLAND — Three hundred and seventy students were named to the Allegany College of Maryland dean’s list for the fall 2011 semester, according to Fran Leibfreid, ACM interim vice president of instructional affairs.
To be eligible for the dean’s list, a student must earn a 3.8 or higher grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and be enrolled in five or more semester hours of course work. -
Afterschool programs cut in approved board budget
The budget approved Tuesday night by the Allegany County Board of Education doesn’t include money for locally funded afterschool programs.
-
Braddock Middle students earn honor roll status
Braddock Middle School recently announced that 203 students have been posted to the honor roll for the second nine-week marking period of the 2010-2011 school year.
-
Mineral residents, staff give tearful plea for special education
Tuesday night’s standing-room-only Mineral County Board of Education meeting was emotionally charged as several people took the floor to defend the special education positions that could potentially be on the chopping block. Both Tom Denne, director of psychological services, student assessment and student services, and Karen Wegener, assistant principal at Keyser Primary Middle School, entreated that the board remember the words of Margaret Meade.
-
Mineral Board will not renew Hackworth’s contract
After almost a 90-minute executive session Tuesday, the Mineral County Board of Education unanimously voted not to renew Superintendent Tilden “Skip” Hackworth’s four-year contract. His current contract will end on June 30, 2011.
-
Mediation certification training scheduled
Allegany Conflict Resolution Center is planning a 45-hour mediation certification training to become a trained mediator.
-
Students play key role in Mineral recycling efforts
Despite a lack of funding, officials and residents in Mineral County are making every effort to build strong recycling and litter control programs.
-
Wanted: Keyser High School supporters
Keyser High School and the community have come up with an alternative way to raise much-needed funds for their new athletic complex. Through the formation of their 2000 Club, Principal Charles Wimer says, they will raise the just over $2 million needed to pay off the lease-to-purchase arrangement and have additional funds left over.
-
Keyser Primary planning to start early next year
The overriding topic of the Mineral County School Board meeting Tuesday was the approval of the plans for the construction of Keyser Primary School. The beginning stages of planning are set to start in March or April, but Skip Hackworth, superintendent of the Mineral County schools , hopes to start as soon as next month.
- More Education Headlines
-
Area students named to Frostburg State University dean’s list
