Back-to-back dip expected in N.C. county student enrollment

CURRITUCK

Currituck County's student population is expected to drop two years in a row for the first time in more than 20 years.

Enrollment fell by 16 students last school year and is expected to fall by 50 more to about 4,000 when classes begin in late August.

The two years of decline follow unprecedented student population growth of nearly 1,000 this decade, which prompted officials into aggressive school construction. A new middle school opened in 2002, and two new elementary schools are set to open this fall.

But now, plans to build a new high school by 2014 could be delayed.

"It's probably not quite as urgent as it was three years ago," said Currituck County Schools Superintendent Mike Warren. "We think this is just a lull. We know this is a place people want to come. It's a matter of when, not if, the economy turns around."

Currituck County's population grew by more than 30 percent from 2000 to July 2006 to 23,770, according to census records. But building permits for new home construction have dropped each of the last three years from 490 in 2005 to 343 in 2006 to 243 in 2007, according to statistics from the Currituck County inspections department. Through June of this year, new home building permits are slightly ahead of last year's pace.

Meanwhile, Camden County's student population has grown each year for the past five years from 1,567 in 2004 to 1,899 this year. Camden's numbers were measured at the end of the school years.

"It looks like we'll top 1,900," said Paula Mickey, spokeswoman for Camden County Schools.

Populations in most North Carolina counties are aging, and that could in part account for fewer students, said Heather Berkhardt, planning and evaluation coordinator for the North Carolina Division of Aging and Adult Services. Older residents will become a much larger percentage of the population, while the number of children will grow at a slower pace, she said.

In Currituck County, the 2005 count of people 60 and older was 3,936, according to census figures compiled by Berkhardt's office, while those 17 and under numbered 5,352. Projections for 2030 have those 60 and older numbering 10,095 with those 17 and under increasing to 8,614.

Currituck County lacks sufficient affordable housing, which may be discouraging young families to move here, said Currituck County Manager Dan Scanlon. Currituck County's property values rose by 143 percent in 2005 after a revaluation.

"It's not easy for a new, young family," he said.

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com