– Dick Mason

– The Observer

The long-term enrollment picture may finally be brightening for the La Grande School District.

Enrollment in the district is up 38 students from almost a year ago. The district has 2,153 students, up from the the 2,115 it had in early October of 2006.

The addition of 38 students represents only a 1.7 percent increase but it is a bright note in light in of the district’s recent history. The district’s enrollment has tumbled steadily since 1992 when it had about 2,900 students.

The increase can be traced to a jump in kindergartners and first-graders.

The district has 175 kindergarten students, up 22 from a year ago. La Grande also has 180 first-graders, 27 more than what were expected based on last year’s kindergarten enrollment.

La Grande has 1,002 elementary school students at its three grade schools. Following are the district’s elementary school totals:

? Central Elementary: 467 students, up 16 from early October of 2006.

? Island City Elementary: 220, up 26.

? Greenwood Elementary: 315, down 12.

La Grande Middle School has 441 students in grades 6-8, eight more than a almost year ago. La Grande High School has 710 students, the same number it had in early October 2006.

The high school’s enrollment is unchanged but still is higher than anticipated.

"We had projected 667 students,” said La Grande High School Principal Doug Potter.

The LHS total is 43 more than projected in part because the district has placed a limit for the first time on the number of high school students who can enroll in the Union-Baker Education Service District’s alternative school in Island City. A 50-student limit is in place.

Potter anticipates that enrollment at LHS will remain unchanged in 2008-09 because the incoming ninth-grade class next year will likely match that of the senior class graduating next spring.

The principal expects the high school’s enrollment to fall by 50 students in 2009-10 and 2010-11 because of smaller sixth and seventh grade classes now at the middle school.

Potter said enrollment at the high school could dip to 575 in 2010-11.

Enrollment is critical for school funding because districts receive about $5,000 per student from the state in funding. Falling enrollment in the La Grande district has taken a heavy toll over the past decade. The district had to close Riveria Elementary in 2002 and Willow Elementary in June 2006 because of falling student numbers. It was also forced to cancel its contract with EOU to run Ackerman Lab School in 1996. This forced Eastern to close the Ackerman elementary school that year.