Enrollment increases in Lyon County schools

For the first time in four years, the Lyon County School District is reporting an increase in enrollment.

Superintendent Keith Savage reported the tally from Friday’s official count day was 8,117 students. That’s up 41 from last year’s 8,076.

“That may not sound like much, but that is very good news to us,” he said.

It reverses a trend in which the district has been losing students by the hundreds each year.

“It’s significant because we’re not going backwards,” Savage said. “We think it’s a positive indication of the economy, and people are moving back into our district.”

Last year, enrollment dropped 178 students, from 8,254. Since 2007 — when enrollment peaked at 9,275 — the school district has lost 1,158 students. That adds up to more than an $8 million loss.

The number of students present on count day is used to formulate the amount of money the district receives from the state. Lyon County will receive $7,082 per student enrolled.

Savage said it was hard to pinpoint the location of the growth.

“It’s spread throughout the whole district,” he said. “It didn’t come at just one school.”

However, he said, the increase in first-graders at Dayton Elementary School will lead to adding a fourth class there this year.