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Schools

Enrollment in Hampton Bays Schools Increases

Cafeteria spending limits set at school board Tuesday night meeting.

Enrollment in the Hampton Bays School District jumped up by between two and five percent at each school, according to data given by school principals at a school board meeting Tuesday night.

A total of 794 students are enrolled in the , up by 30 students from last year, said Principal Marc Meyer.

At the , principal Dennis Schug reported a similar pattern, with 588 students enrolling in early September 2010 up to a total of 603 this year.

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The also saw a 30-student bump up in enrollment to 619, Principal Chris Richardt said.

Superintendent Lars Clemensen said that enrollment jump-ups were anticipated when the school completed a recent demographic planning and projections study.

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“We’re spot on,” Clemensen said. “We’re within 1 percent of where our projections were.”

The district has about 2,000 students, he said.

A Southampton Town hamlet study noted that the district had an overall 12 percent increase in enrollment between the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years.

CAFETERIA SPENDING LIMITS SET

Following up on a at a prior school board meeting, the board set a $25 limit on student charges to the cafeteria.

A cafeteria renovation project, which commenced at the beginning of the summer, is also nearly finished, said school administrator Larry Luce.

Final equipment will be installed Friday, he said.

REQUEST TO EXPAND PRE-K

In other news, resident Deborah Foley asked the board of education about the possibility of expanding the district’s universal pre-k program. She has a young son who will be eligible for the program soon.

Clemensen said that the state froze grants supporting the program, but would look into other existing options.

STUDENTS RECOGNIZED

A group of Hampton Bays students were presented with “Certificates of Love” from Donna Christina Oliverio, the founder and program supervisor of Kids Stock the House, an East End community service organization. Kids Stock the House helps support the New Hyde Park-based Ronald McDonald House.

Many of the recognized students spent summer afternoons at 7-Eleven, asking passerby for donations, Oliverio said. Student Binela Brbutovic spent time with a child who has brain damage and cannot speak but still laughs and smiles, she told the audience. Other students spent time with a four-year-old boy from Iran who suffered severe injuries from an exploding bomb.

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