School Enrollment Continues To Decline, Chatham Superintendent Says

CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham Superintendent Michael LaSusa reports that enrollment in the School District of The Chathams has been steadily declining in recent years and does not appear to be changing anytime soon.

As reported at the Chatham Board of Education's regular meeting last week, enrollment in the district has continued to fall this year, according to LaSusa.

According to LaSusa, enrollment has decreased for the third or fourth year in a row, confirming the findings of the 2018 demographic study. The graduating class of 2021 was the largest ever, with 360 students, in comparison, the class of 2022 recently graduated 329.

"We currently have 232 students entering first grade as of today, so if you do the math we just graduated 329 and we have 232 coming in, so this is the third or maybe fourth year we have seen the demographic projections from 2018 come to fruition," LaSusa said.

Registration is still ongoing, and a more accurate picture of the final enrollment numbers will be available as the school year approaches, according to LaSusa.

"I probably will have more to say about that when we get into the next school year," LaSusa said.

Following the regular board meeting last week, the district held a special personnel meeting on Friday, July 15, where Darren D'Alconzo was hired as the new Chatham High Athletic Director after a unanimous affirmative vote by the Chatham Board of Education.

D'Alconzo, 46, will take over for Mo Abdelaziz, who has moved on to a position as an assistant principal in Mendham. D'Alconzo will be paid a prorated salary of $131,000 through June 30, 2023, according to the board.

D'Alconzo is a teacher in the Morris School District and the founder of No Idea Sports, which organizes adult leagues in a variety of sports.

According to the board, a start date for D'Alconzo has not yet been made public.