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Schools

School Enrollment Exceeds Projections

And it's mostly due to more kindergartners than anticipated.

During summer vacation, school officials have been surprised by the number of students, mostly kindergartners, who have enrolled for fall above and beyond expected numbers.

"This I think you'll find very interesting," Superintendent Deborah Low told the Board of Education at Monday night's meeting.

As of Aug. 23, elementary school enrollment exceeded population projections by 41 students (this influx has not occured at the middle and high schools.) The bulk of those extra students joined the incoming full-day kindergarten, making it necessary to hire two extra teachers at the last minute.

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School officials are still trying to figure out just how many additional students are due to people moving into town versus registering late. Low said anecdotal evidence suggests that about 30 families with young children have moved into the district since May 1 while about 20 residents signed up after the official registration season.

Ridgefield's real estate market had an impressive June, Low pointed out at the meeting, which could have contributed to the numbers.

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In an interview last week, First Selectman Rudy Marconi agreed.

"June was an incredible month," with 55 home sales in town, he said. He added that he asked five local realtors—"not including my wife"—to estimate the percentage of June's sales that went to families.

"I heard a low of 95 to a high of 98 percent," Marconi said.

Personnel Director Karen Dewing noted that, though kindergarten enrollment looks to be higher than expected, the incoming class is still smaller than all the other elementary school grades, continuing a closely-watched trend of declining enrollment.

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