OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Official enrollment numbers have come in for Iowa schools and for the Ottumwa Community Schools District, the numbers are looking good.
Over the past five or six years, the Ottumwa enrollment has trended similar to the rest of southeast Iowa – in a steady decline.
However, Ottumwa Schools had a very large kindergarten class this year – about 50 or 60 more students than the graduating class.
Superintendent Davis Eidahl said the district is hopeful that this upward trend continues.
“We're building a new facility, state of the art facility and we aren't designing these for a large population explosion but we are designing those where if we would see grown in southeast Iowa when we are expecting to see with everything that's taking place with the job markets and Indian Hills incubator program starting new businesses, that we will be able to house several new students,” said Eidahl.
The new elementary school is set to open its doors in fall of 2013.
Eidahl said the district’s enrollment is just shy of 4,500 students and five years ago that number was closer to 4,800 students.
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