Schools

Hampton Bays Schools Buck Trend in Enrollment Decline

Bi-County report shows enrollment has dropped in Suffolk and Nassau.

The Hampton Bays School District seems to have defied a recent island-wide trend in the decline of student enrollment.  According to The Annual Bi-County Nassau/Suffolk Public School Enrollment Report, public school enrollment on Long Island has declined by 2.7 percent since 2003.  This is a decline of 2.8 percent in Suffolk County and 2.6 percent in Nassau.

The Bi-County report attributes the enrollment decline to an overall decline in population in both counties.  This is believed to be directly linked to the high cost of living in our area, which has prompted many young people to move off of Long Island to raise their families elsewhere.  The report states: "The population on Long Island is aging.  Nassau County's median age rose to 42.0 while in Suffolk County it rose to 39.5 years, according to 2008 estimates.  This can be attributed to the loss of almost 150,000 people in the 25 - 44 year age group since 2000."

The report also speculates that high unemployment and the depressed housing market could be contributing factors to the decline in school enrollment on Long Island.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While this trend seems to be the norm in other parts of Suffolk County and in Nassau County, it is not in Hampton Bays, where school enrollment has gone up, if only slightly.

"Our enrollment hasn't gone down.  It's gone up slightly from last year to this year and that's because some of the smaller classes are graduating now and our incoming kindergarten classes are larger," said Hampton Bays School District Superintendent Lars Clemensen.  "As each class graduates, a larger class takes over."

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Clemensen said enrollment has increased in line with the district's expectations. "Enrollment is not spiking, but it is in line with what our long-term projections have been," he said.

Enrollment in the Hampton Bays School District was 1,916 in 2009.  This year enrollment is at 1,974.  "That's pretty consistent with the class of 2010 being smaller than the kindergarten class that just entered this year," Clemensen said.

According to the report, elementary schools have shown the greatest decline in enrollment island-wide, a 5.2 percent decrease since 2003.  The report states that an additional 3.6 percent decline in enrollment is expected in the next three years.  


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here