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For the first time since 2008 enrollment in Chambers County Schools is up. During the Wednesday meeting of the school board, Superintendent Casey Chambley reported that the district body is on an upward swing. 

“This year we’re up 81 [students] so for the first time since ‘08, the district is gaining students, which is a really good thing,” Chambley said. “That’s not a huge increase to move [funding]. However, it’s better than losing those. So we should see, in the next fiscal year, you should see those numbers increase.”

Enrollment is a major factor in how school budgets are allocated, both on the state and federal levels. 

After 2003, there was only one year that the district enrollment increased; 2007. COVID-19 also had a factor, Chambley said. 

“We’ve been closing the gap a little bit since COVID-19 and it closed… we lost 199, [then] 197 to last year we lost 20 [students].”

In the 2008/09 school year, the district had 4,193 kids. In the 2023/24 school year, that number was down to 2,943. That is a 30 percent decrease in 15 years. 

The biggest decrease in that stretch happened after the 2011/12 school year with 206 kids leaving. A close second was the year students returned fully to in-person classes after COVID-19, with 197 students leaving the district on 22/23. 

While enrollment fluctuates through the year, as of Aug. 28 enrollment is up 81 students since last year.