County School Enrollment Up By More Than 3 Percent

Enrollments at Oconee County Schools increased by 246 students over the last year, marking the fourth straight year that enrollments in the county schools grew by more than 3 percentage points.

Brook Whitmire, chief Human Resources officer for the school system, told the Board of Education on Monday that the growth in enrollments means that the county is adding enough students each year to represent about half of K-5 school.

Oconee County Schools opened the Dove Creek Elementary School on Hog Mountain Road in the far west of the county this year to accommodate school growth.

The school system also added 148 new employees for the start of this academic year in August, Whitmire said, including 85 new teachers. Twenty-five of the teachers hired are in new positions, while the remainder are replacements for existing teaching staff.

In other action, Chief Academic Officer Claire Buck announced a Community Engagement meeting for 6 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 18 at the Oconee County Civic Center to gather input for a new five-year strategic improvement plan for the school system.

All parents, students and community members are invited to attend, Buck said.

For more on the story, with a video of the Board of Education meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.