By JENNY DERRINGER

derringer@crescent-news.com

As a member of a graduating class that was approximately 318 students strong, it's a little surprising to see the Defiance High School class of 2008 have only 161 graduates.

But class sizes in many districts have experienced a gradual decrease over the years and may never return to enrollment statistics a generation ago.

Looking back at 1990s enrollment figures, assistant superintendent Ian MacGregor reported that in 1993, the total district enrollment was 3,224 with a senior class of 237 members.

He noted that for the past seven years, Defiance City Schools' enrollment has remained fairly stable. In that time, overall enrollment for the district has ranged from a high of 2,583 to a low of 2,476. School officials anticipate an enrollment of more than 2,500 students this year.

A typical class size last year at Defiance ranged anywhere from 166 fourth-graders to 223 sophomores.

The high school grades tend to pick up more students because of a lack of parochial classes offered beyond the eighth grade in the city.

"As the overall student population has decreased, our district, like most districts, has reduced our core teaching staff," explained MacGregor. "Smaller class sizes allows for greater individualized instruction, more differentiated instruction, and enables teachers to do a better job meeting the needs of all students and achieving the state academic standards.

"The decrease in students does result in decreased state funding because the state funds districts on a per student basis," he explained. "As a result of decreased enrollment, state funding decreases, and districts respond by restructuring to reduce costs."

The state currently funds districts in the amount of $5,732 per student for fiscal year 2009, according to Defiance CFO-treasurer Eric Beavers.

"The loss of state funding has had a huge impact on education," added Gary Jones, Continental Local superintendent. "It has required local school districts to raise money -- income tax or property tax -- to make up for lost revenue from the state. This, in turn, has forced districts to run basically at state minimum requirements. Not many districts offer anything extra. The difficulty in passing levies controls local education. Schools are being forced to run their schools on what their districts can afford locally, not on funding provided by the state."

One of the larger grade levels at Continental Local Schools was in 1980 when the senior class was 75 members strong. Today, a typical class size is anywhere from 45 to 55 students.

Having a smaller class has its advantages and disadvantages.

"Smaller student populations allow for more individual attention by teachers," explained Jones. "Discipline is usually less of a problem with smaller numbers. Disadvantages would be that you cannot offer many extra classes. Your curriculum is somewhat limited by lower numbers."

Enrollment at Wayne Trace Local Schools has also had a steady decline.

"In the past, our larger classes graduated between 115 to 140," said superintendent Brian Gerber. "We will not graduate a class larger than 85 over the next 12 years. Open enrollment helps our school district -- we have more students coming in than going out.

"Our teachers do a fantastic job in the classroom," Gerber noted. "So regardless if we have 29 in a classroom or 21 in a classroom, each student will receive a quality education."

Gerber cites the county's economy as a reason for declining enrollment.

"Decreased student enrollment in Paulding County is due to the lack of economical development," he explained. "We do not have industry and jobs coming into Paulding County to retain and attract back our young people. Our young people have to move away from Paulding County in order to seek employment. When our young people move away it is very unlikely they will return.

"This has a negative impact on the school districts," Gerber added. "It's quite simple. The lack of economical development causing our young people to relocate for employment opportunities equals less kids (for the next generation). This equals less students. The math is not difficult."

Also located in Paulding County is Antwerp Local Schools, which currently educates approximately 670 students in grades K-12, according to superintendent Mark Hartman.

"This may be the fewest number of students we have had without going way back in time," said Hartman. "The average class size is about 50 students in each grade. To the best of my knowledge, without digging into the records, Antwerp had 81 seniors in 1981."

The K-12 Antwerp building, which welcomed students and staff in January 2004, was built to accommodate 1,000 students, explained Hartman. "Having only 670, we do have some extra space."

Northeastern Local Schools has remained fairly consistent in its enrollment. Superintendent Jim Roach noted that his district has no extra space and continues to use all of its classrooms.

"Our class sizes over the past three years have remained consistent, 90 to 100 students per grade level," saidRoach. "Our district enrollment has been 1,156 students in 2007-08, 1,157 in 2006-07 and 1,154 in 2005-06."

Within each grade level, there are approximately 20 students per teacher in grades 1-6, with the exception of all-day, everyday kindergarten, which has 23 students per section, noted Roach.

In grades 7-12 (with about 90 to 110 per grade level), class sizes average anywhere from 17 to 23 students per section.

"Maintaining an optimal student-to-teacher ratio often results in more teacher-to-student individual attention and interaction," stressed Roach. "This obviously is a great thing."

These days, the typical class size at Paulding Exempted Village Schools is about 121, explained superintendent Pat Ross.

"Our largest classes are the senior and freshmen classes. They are 135," said Ross. "The largest class was in 1981 and there were 217 graduating seniors.

"The teacher-to-student ratios have gone down and then back up. They were higher in the 1980s, lower in the 1990s and are now larger because of budget cuts."