Moorestown Beats Projections, Sees Enrollment Bump

After watching enrollment slide the last few years, Moorestown School District saw a bump this year, with more students enrolled in the district than at the beginning of last school year.

According to Superintendent Brian Betze, the district experienced increased enrollment across the board, with the largest influx of new students—50—being felt at the Upper Elementary School. Enrollment at both Roberts Elementary School and the high school climbed 3.5 percent.

Overall, the district experienced a roughly 3 percent increase across all six schools.

Betze said the district population was projected to be somewhere below 4,000 students, but at the beginning of the year the district has 4,085 students enrolled. The district had 4,073 student in Oct. 2011 and 4,255 in Oct. 2010.

He said it’s difficult to theorize exactly why enrollment went up, since there wasn’t any significant residential development in the past year. But he pegged the increase to potential slight demographic changes within the township.

“Usually it’s when older folks move out and younger folks are moving in,” Betze said. “It’s hard to predict any of those as being trends, upwards or downwards.”

However, “any type of slight increase is a good thing,” he said, since it typically translates into more state aid. “Not much, but a little.”

“Being consistent for us is important,” Betze added. “Any type of major change, up or down, is going to affect staffing.”

According to the report prepared by professional demographer Richard Grip in 2011, Moorestown’s student population is expected to decline over the next several years, reaching between 3,664 and 3,781 for the 2015-2016 school year.

Grip’s study showed that a drop in new housing developments, higher-than-normal median age, low birth rate and absence of 20- to 34-year-olds in the demographics would contribute to a decline in student population.

If Moorestown’s enrollment were to drop drastically, to the point where it was necessary to adopt strategies to stem the decline, Betze said the district could elect to participate in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, which enables students to attend a school outside their district of residence.

Betze said when Berlin Township School District, where he previously served as superintendent, joined the Choice program, it brought in 75 new students.

“It really was a windfall for us,” said Betze.  

However, he said there's been no talk of joining the Choice program in Moorestown.