| MOUNTAIN STATE HAS OLDEST POPULATION
Decrease in WV's public school enrollment speeds up
By Ryan Quinn, Education Reporter, for the Gazette-Mail
West Virginia's public school student enrollment dropped nearly 2,760 students from last school year to this one, more than double the declines in the past two years, according to data released last week by the state Department of Education.
It's the biggest one-year decrease in about 15 years, although the establishment of the state's pre-kindergarten program since 2002-03 might limit direct comparability over that time.
Only nine out of the 55 counties saw increases in overall enrollment â counted for early childhood through 12th grade â from last school year to this one. The northern counties of Berkeley and Monongalia saw the biggest raw-number gains, while Kanawha and Cabell counties, home to West Virginia's two largest cities, saw the biggest drops.
"We're losing people all the time because of the job market here," Kanawha schools Superintendent Ron Duerring said. "People are looking for employment."
READ REST OF STORY
Decrease in WV's public school enrollment speeds u by Ryan Quinn, Education Reporter for the Gazette-Mail
| 
