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Show Female members of families intensely opposed to the on going study of wilderness proposals by the Bureau of Land Management sought to publicly Utah School Enrollments May Be Greater Than Anticipated The predicted increase In Utah school enrollments now is underway and its magnitude may be even greater than was originally anticipated. This observation is contained in a study of school enrollment trends prepared by Utah Foundation, the private research organization. According to . the foundation study, it is projected there will be 46,700 pupils enrolled in Utah public schools by 1988. This represents an increase of 142,200 .students or 44 percent over the number enrolled during the current year. By the mid-1980's, the year-to-year increases will exceed 18,000. These projected enrollment increases are substantially greater than those experienced during the post-World war II years. Previously, the peak year-to-year increase occurred in 1964 when school enrollments In Utah rose by 13,799. The projected increase of 18,090 for 1984 is 31 percent greater than this earlier high. Similarly, the projected increase of 142,200 in school enrollments over the next 10 years is nearly 48 percent greater than the actual experience during the 1954 to 1964 period. Foundation analysts point out that this enrollment growth will have far-reaching effects on public school finance in the state. In 1934 when enrollments are expected to increase by 18,000 per year, approximately $40 million in added operating funds will be required each year merely to provide for this growth. Presently, enrollment growth is adding about $9 million a year to school operating costs. This year (1978-79) Utah schools will spend about $400 million for general operating purposes. If present spending trends continue, school operating expenditures in Utah will reach $1 billion a year by 1985-86 and will exceed $1.5 billion by the 1988-89 school year, In addition to increased funds for operating purposes, enrollment growth will necessitate a substantial rise in capital outlay, The study notes that school building costs have Increased dramatically during recent years. Moreover, the building requirements will not be distributed uniformly among Utah's 40 school districts. Nearly 90 percent of the enrollment growth registered in Utah this year was concentrated in four school districts. Recent figures released by trie Utah State Board of Education show that 1978 fall enrollments in Utah rose by 7,160 over 1977. It had been expected that the increase would be less than half this amount. This higher-than expected enrollment growth is the result of a strong net in-migration of population to Utah. The foundation study warns that if the inmigration trends of the past year should continue, enrollment projections cited in this study will have to be revised upward accordingly. Jordan School District accounted for more than 1TiiTmr "i mil i i ii ii m 1 1 mi display their cltlcism Wednesday by manning picket lines outside the entrances to the Escalante BLM offices. half the total enrollment Increase that occurred in (Utah this. year. Enrollments in the Jordan District rose by 3,789 pupils. Other major Increases took place in the Alpine School District (1,319 pupils), Davis School District (755 pupils), and Weber School District (529 pupils). School enrollments declined in six districts (Beaver, Granite, Morgan, North Summit, Salt Lake and Ogden) this year. Major factors in the increase in Utah school enrollments, according to the foundation study, are (1) the rise in Utah's birth rate over the past decade and (2) the in-migration of population to the state during the 1970's. Another contributing factor is that few students are attending private schools in Utah than was the case 10 years ago. Presently, all of the growth is occurring in the elementary grades. Within the next year or two, increases will begin to affect the junior high schools, and the rise in senior high school enrollments will occur during the middle part of the 1980 decade. Eventually, this new "enrollment bulge" will affect the colleges, but the major impact for higher education is still nearly a decade away. Don't buy a larger or more powerful piece of household equipment than you need. Bigger isn't necessary better. Make sure its size and power are right for your home by asking your dealer, a trade association, or a con sumer-interest group. |
