Enrollment Up at Northfield Public Schools

In this week's video, Superintendent Chris Richardson talks about the district's first official headcount for enrollment on Oct. 1.

Enrollment so far is up for the 2012-2013 school year. This is important because the number of students enrolled in the district dictates the amount of state funding a district receives, which is an average of the enrollment throughout the school year.

Enrollment for Northfield's pre-school through 12th grade, including those at the Area Learning Center, was at 3,920 students on Oct. 1, which is up from 3,888 from last year at the same time. 

Big gains were seen at the secondary level this year, Richardson said. Enrollment at Northfield Middle School went from 876 students last year to 934 this year, with a large increase in the sixth-grade class. There was also a bump at Northfield High School and only a slight decrease at the elementary schools.

And when it comes to funding, all students are not created equal.

State funding varies depending on the grade. Pre-kindergarten students are weighted as 1.25, which means for every pre-kindergarten student the district has, it gets 125 percent of the standard funding per pupil, which is $5,224. Kindergartners are weighted at .612, first through third grade is weighted at 1.115, fourth through sixth grade is weighted at 1.06 and seventh through 12th grade is weighted at 1.3.

The numbers are also important because the district forecasts out five years for what future enrollments may bring in terms of funding. They look at their enrollment trends, birthrate and other factors to paint as clear a picture as possible. But it's become harder to predict as families become more mobile and don't necessarily plant their roots in one community, Richardson said.

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