As school starts, enrollment up over last June
Youngster Shelby Daugherty waits in the flower garden at her home across from Glacier Gateway School. She wanted to go to school, but had to wait, because as a kindergartner, her classes didn't start until 12:30 p.m. She was not pleased. (Chris Peterson photo)
Hungry Horse News
Aug. 24 marked the first day of school and Columbia Falls overall enrollment was up over last year about 84 students from June.
Ruder Elementary School went from 536 at the end of last year to 574 this fall.
Glacier Gateway saw a slight drop from 509 to 477 while the junior high went from 530 to 550.
The high school also saw a bump from 651 to 709.
Those numbers will likely change, as students may have unenrolled and not notified the school.
The school doesn’t take its official count until October, when final enrollment has settled down a bit.
School enrollment means more state funding, but it can also mean a school has to hire more teachers and staff to reach state mandated accreditation standards if class sizes get too large.
The largest class in School District 6 is currently ninth grade, with 205 students.