Manatee County schools are welcoming back hundreds of more students this year than previous years.
The School District announced on Tuesday that enrollment has increased by more than 1,000 students this year.
The numbers are from the annual 5-day count completed at the end of the first week of school.
The district said this represents more than a 2 percent increase in student enrollment.
This year’s 5-day count for all Manatee District schools, which was based on student counts taken last Friday, was 46,807 students.
That’s 1,007 students more than last year’s student count of 45,800 taken during the same time period.
“These numbers confirm what I have been hearing from many principals and our Executive Directors, that our student counts are significantly up in our schools,” said Superintendent Rick Mills. “It’s a positive sign for our district and community that our student population continues to show steady and healthy growth.”
The school district takes students counts on the fifth day of school and again on the 10th day of school to get an accurate gauge of growth or decline in the student population.
If growth is heavier in some areas of the county, or in specific schools, teachers or other staff members may need to be re-assigned to address that growth.
Additional teachers or other employees might also need to be hired to handle the increase in students in district schools.
District leaders will be researching the growth trends to determine what specific steps the Manatee District will take to meet the demands of the additional students.
School districts across Florida also take annual student counts in October and February that are used to determine the actual number of students in each district for the purposes of state funding.
Fluctuations in student populations are a regular occurrence as families move in and out of the state, or move from one county to another.