Enrollment shows signs
of slowing in Marlboro
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — With first-week attendance figures in, Marlboro’s K-8 school district administrators are reporting a slowed growth rate in the student population. Early figures show a growth of slightly more than 2 percent in the district’s student enrollment, about half of last year’s 4 percent spike.
A total of 5,849 students were officially enrolled from Marlboro, 28 of whom attend out-of-district schools. This marks an increase of 127 students from 2001-02, compared to a jump of well over 200 pupils at the same time last year, according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marc Gaswirth.
"What was most surprising about the numbers was the middle school population," Gaswirth said. "We thought the numbers would be higher than they are."
All told, the Marlboro Middle School population of students, grades six through eight, increased by just a single student. In June, that enrollment was 1,428, compared to the September start of 1,429 pupils. Gaswirth attributed the low growth to large eighth-grade classes being replaced by smaller seventh-grade classes.
One area that exceeded expectations was the first grade enrollment, which began with 653 students. Just 400 kindergartners were registered in Marlboro public schools during the 2001-02 school year, making for tough predictions for the 2002-03 school year.
"We saw a pretty big jump in our first grade numbers," Gaswirth said. "My guess is quite a few were probably in full-day kindergartens, not our own district half-day programs. The rest probably moved in and were new to our district."
Across the district, the Frank J. Dugan Elementary School had the highest rise in enrollment with 49 students, followed by the Asher Holmes Elementary School with 38 more pupils and the Marlboro Early Learning Center with 23 new pupils. Gaswirth said the increases at Dugan may result in the need to "shuffle the deck a bit" next year to balance average class sizes.
The state uses student enrollment numbers as of Oct. 15 for their official records. When those numbers are in, the district’s demographer will relate any findings to the Board of Education. Gaswirth said he does not expect any significant changes by that time.
In other business, the board announced the hiring of Peter Kopack as the new vice principal of the Asher Holmes Elementary School. Kopack replaces Frank Altmire, who accepted a principal’s position at a school in northern New Jersey.
Kopack is currently a fifth grade teacher at the Bayview Elementary School, Middletown, according to Marlboro School District Public Information Coordinator Sharon Witchel. In 1999, Kopack received the Governor’s Teachers Recognition Program Award from the state Department of Education.
Kopack is expected to begin working in Marlboro on Nov. 18.