Woodlawn Enrollment Up; Considers Graduation Plans

WOODLAWN - Enrollment for the Woodlawn School District was at 575 as of Oct. 1, marking the highest number of students on campus since the 2016-17 school year. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Hancock revealed the enrollment figures during the Woodlawn School Board’s regular monthly meeting Monday night. The Arkansas Department of Education uses enrollment on Oct. 1 of each year as a baseline in tracking student population within a school or district. Hancock called it a “significant increase” noting that the enrollment figure for the 2021-22 school year was 547, a difference of 28 students or about 5 percent of the student population. This year’s Oct. 1 number is the highest since Woodlawn had an enrollment of 578 for the 2016-17 school year. Since hitting that mark six years ago, enrollment had been slow decline, falling to 564 in 2017-18, 559 in 2018-19, 555 in 2019-20 and to 547 last year. Enrollment is linked directly to how much money a school district receives from the state in foundation funding since the money is distributed on a per student basis based on the average student enrollment over three quarters of the previous school year. School districts will begin receiving $7,349 in foundation money for each student beginning this school year. Graduation in Pine Bluff The Woodlawn School Board voted Monday night to reserve the Pine Bluff Convention Cen‐ter auditorium for the Class of 2023 graduation ceremony pending feedback from the students and patrons. After visiting with staff at the Pine Bluff Convention Center, Woodlawn High School Principal T.J. Hill told the school board that the cost of having the ceremony in the auditorium is about half the cost of holding it in the larger arena, which is where it has been held the past two years. It was pointed out during the discussion that the large arena was selected to allow social distancing during the COVID pandemic. Board memb...