This past week, school district “report cards” were released for the 2012-2013 school year. (Last year’s school year.) This is the last publicly available information on enrollment. For the first time in a number of years, student enrollment actually edged up.
| Students | 04-05 | 05-06 | 06-07 | 07-08 | 08-09 | 09-10 | 10-11 | 11-12 | 12-13 | Percent Change |
| 885 | 860 | 858 | 845 | 815 | 779 | 753 | 742 | 755 | -14.69% |
Even with this small 1.75% increase in enrollment from 2011-12 to 2012-13, the table illustrates that there has been an overall drop in total enrollment of 14.69 percent during the last nine years.
The Board of Education in April adopted a $14.77 million budget for next year that proposes to increase spending by over $1 million or 7.56 percent.
However, the tax levy would only go up to $5.2 million, a 1.88 percent increase which is more in line with the enrollment increase and which is under the district’s 2.5 percent cap.
At no time over the last nine years has the Board of Education ever voted to decrease the local tax levy from one year to another. State aid has decreased at times, but decreases in enrollment and staff employment have not played out in lower property tax bills to owners of property in the school district.
The budget will go before voters on May 20th, as will three seats on the school board.
The Post Star reports on the Whitehall School District here.