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Highlands Today

Enrollment Dip Linked To Area's Poor Economy

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 5, 2008

It's not a big surprise that enrollment is down in Highlands County schools this year. The lower number is a product of our ailing economy, and the need for families to follow jobs wherever they can find them. Unfortunately, sometimes those jobs are elsewhere.

After 10 days of school, Highlands County schools showed a decrease of 190 students over last year. That means less school funding from the state, but that number won't be known until early October when a final count is held.

For many years enrollment has grown in our county, causing school crowding and the need for another elementary school to be built. Even with the lower enrollment numbers, those buildings still are needed. Too many portable classrooms fill our school grounds.

The area's poor economy has left some families leaving the area to search for work. It's sad to lose these folks, and, we hope, those jobs will reappear once the economy turns around. Until then, we'll probably see continued declines in enrollment.

A lot of people have lost their jobs in the last year or two. Construction jobs in particular are hurting the most. Fewer new homes are being built and there's just not enough work to go around. As a result, other businesses that depend on these people to buy goods also feel the pinch. Just about every business in Highlands County has taken a hit.

We believe that better days are ahead, and with luck, that day may be sooner than it might seem right now. The rebound, however, probably won't be fast and, instead, be a gradual thing. As much as we want business to thrive, it's healthy to grow steadily and not boom and bust. We all know how the boom and bust cycle works.

Less funding to our schools causes problems, though. Budgets and goals have been set, and even with fewer students, expenses don't go away. That means the schools will have to look hard at their budgets, and that's already been going on for some time.

Let's hope our economy stabilizes and starts to grow. We need the population here to have good jobs to support their families. When this happens, enrollment will again grow. Until then, it's just more tough going.

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