Enrollment at public schools drops 1.2%
Hawaii public schools' enrollment for this school year dipped 1.2 percent below last year, a difference of 2,121 students.
This 2006-07 school year, 179,234 students enrolled in public schools compared with 181,355 in 2005-06.
"Some schools did gain, but overall there was a drop in enrollment," said Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen.
Knudsen discounted conclusions that students are flocking to private schools, and instead attributed the fluctuation to changing demographics.
"Look at birthrates and follow the pattern," Knudsen said. "If it (the birthrate) peaked five years ago," you would see a current rise in enrollment, he said.
"There's nothing hard and fast, but the most directly statistical evidence would be in the birthrate," he said.
Except for Kamehameha Schools' expansion and some new grade-level and school openings, there has not been major growth in private schools, Knudsen said.
He also suggested the decline could be partly due to Hawaii's economy, saying it is likely younger families with school-age children are moving out of state.
The heaviest decline this year from last was in the Windward Oahu District with a 3.6 percent difference, translating to 604 fewer students.
Even the Leeward Oahu District, with the largest student population of any district in the state (39,734), saw a 0.2 percent decrease.
Public charter schools saw a slight bump in numbers with a 1.5 percent increase or 82 more students enrolled (5,678 this year compared with 5,596 last year).
Knudsen noted that this was not a major shift in charter schools.
The largest public schools by grade level are Waipahu High School (2,576), Mililani Middle School (1,822, grades 6-8) and Holomua Elementary School (located in Ewa, 1,534, grades K-6).
Myron Thompson Academy, a virtual "e-school," is the largest charter school with 772 students in grades K-12.
The bulk of Hawaii's public schools enrollment is in grades K through 6, with 97,383 enrolled, 54.3 percent of the total.
Grades 9 through 12 make up 30.6 percent of the total, or 54,799 students, followed by grades 7 to 8 with 27,052 students, or 15.1 percent.