(SIOUX CITY, IA) - Sioux City Schools see more students this year than last, and numbers are even higher than we reported last week. Original reports put the new student number at 120 more than last year. This week, those numbers sit at 137.

Parents and students poured out of Bryant Elementary Wednesday. Chances are a few new ones were in the bunch. District-wide the nearly 140 fresh faces bring total enrollment to nearly 14,000.

"We had six years of student losses averaging 137 students per year down. So this year we're up 137 students," said Associate Superintendent Dr. Linda Madison. That means the increase is an even bigger swing in enrollment than numbers suggest. "This comes at a very good time for us," Madison continued.

Iowa budget shortfalls mean a roughly $7 million loss in state aid for the Sioux City Community School District. Next year, though, these new students will bring in nearly $800,000 in additional funds. Staff credit initiatives like "Transitional Kindergarten" and "Project Lead the Way" for many new recruits. Madison explained, "We have strong educational programming and people are recognizing that."

That's good news for parents like Frances O'Tool. "Having just finished up student teaching I'm excited to eventually teach in the Sioux City School District and more students might mean more teachers to be hired," she said.

The district added a teacher within the first two weeks of this school year at East Middle because of increased class sizes there. 

With O'Tool's daughter in kindergarten, she hopes increasing enrollment is a new trend for years to come.

The district will still lose far more in state aid than it may see from these numbers, but every bit helps. No matter how tight the budget, Madison says, the unique programming that Sioux City offers will continue.

 

Reported by Jeremy Maskel. You can reach Jeremy at jmaskel@kmeg.com. Friend him on facebook at www.facebook.com/jmaskel, or follow him on twitter at www.twitter.com/jermaskel.