With the first full week of school nearly complete, Seymour Community School Corp. is seeing a significant increase in enrollment.

So much so that at least one school board trustee is questioning where they are going to put so many new students.

Trustee Nancy Franke said she is concerned with some class sizes and wants to be proactive in addressing the corporation’s growth.

During the first school board meeting of the new school year Tuesday night, business manager Steve Nauman reported the corporation has 107 more students enrolled than projected.

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“Where are we going to be placing so many students that we were not expecting to have?” Franke asked. “I would be very open to looking at portable buildings. I know we’re not crazy about that, but I would much rather have our students contained in a safer situation than crowded classrooms and hallways.”

Nauman said since the numbers have been consistently going up, they are going to take a hard look at class sizes to determine where the bubbles are and what needs to be done.

They’ve already made sure all of the kindergarten rooms have enough instructional assistants, and they’ve created a temporary teaching position at Margaret R. Brown Elementary School.

“We are monitoring it daily to make sure that all of our students’ needs are met,” Nauman said.

The biggest jump is at the elementary level, which saw 59 more students enrolled, with 45 of those kids going to Brown. The average kindergarten class at Brown has 30 students, and many do not speak English.

“We projected 2,168 in the elementaries, and as of (Tuesday), we’re at 2,227,” Nauman said.

Seymour has five elementary schools: Cortland, Emerson, Brown, Seymour-Redding and Seymour-Jackson. Cortland is the smallest at 125 students, and Jackson is the largest with enrollment of 604.

Seymour High School’s student count is up by 38 students.

“The high school was projected to be at 1,485, and that’s just bumping kids up one year,” Nauman said. “The high school is at 1,523 students.”

And Seymour Middle School’s numbers have increased by 10 students in grades 6 through 8, going from an estimate of 1,072 to 1,082.

The increased enrollment is causing larger class sizes and space issues in most of the school buildings.

“There’s basically almost no room. We’re pretty much full everywhere,” Nauman said.

Although the growth is presenting challenges to the corporation, too many students is a good problem to have, he added.

Growth is important because school corporations receive state funding based on enrollment. More students equals more money.

The Indiana Department of Education requires schools to conduct an average daily membership count in the fall to determine funding levels for the school year. This fall’s count day is Sept. 14.

Currently, the district stands at 167 more students than the fall 2017 count day.

“Last year’s ADM was 4,665,” Nauman said. “We projected enrollment of 4,725 this year. Our enrollment today is 4,832.”

Nauman said the corporation receives about $6,000 per student in state funding.

Last year in September, Nauman reported the district was one student away from being in declining enrollment.

“I’m happy to say that unlike last year, I feel certain that our enrollment is up,” he said.

Due to the lack of growth last school year, the district was short about $700,000 in projected revenue, but the increase in students this year will more than make up for that shortfall, he said.

With count day still a month away though, Nauman said enrollment could easily change by 50 students either way.

But pinpointing exactly how much is difficult because enrollment fluctuates daily, especially at the beginning of the school year, he said.

“I feel certain we will hit our mark. It’s just a question of whether we’ll go up or down before count day,” he said. “I can’t imagine that we’ll go down that much. If we do, I’ll be shocked.”

Since school started Aug. 9, the corporation has gained seven to 14 students each day, Nauman said.

“If we grow like that before count day, we’ll have real problems because we’ll have no place for them, but that’s a good place to be,” he said.

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Seymour Community School Corp. average daily membership (enrollment) history

2011;2012;2013;2014;2015;2016;2017;projected 2018

4,097;4,048.5;4,070.5;4,310.5;4,591;4,668;4,665;4,725

*As of Aug. 14, enrollment stood at 4,832

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