Kindergarten Enrollment In South Brunswick Schools ‘Staggering Low'

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — The South Brunswick School District has a problem. There aren’t enough kindergartners enrolled in the district this year.

During last week’s Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Scott Feder said that the number of enrolled kindergartners this year was “staggeringly low.”

“And while we do account for a late rush in mid to late August, even into September, we're nowhere near our numbers,” Feder told the Board and the community.

The Superintendent said he met with elementary school principals to go over strategies of what to implement to bring in more children and set up a placement. There was also a discussion on district staffing issues.

“The reality is staffing is a major issue. And while we might be overstaffed in one space, we are understaffed and other spaces. So we're not concerned about just having staff floating around with no jobs. But we really need more kindergarteners,” he said.

Here’s a breakdown of kindergartners in each district school:

• Brunswick Acres Elementary School: 43
• Brooks Crossing Elementary School: 70
• Cambridge Elementary School: 54
• Constable Elementary School: 52
• Indian fields Elementary School: 56
• Greenbrook Elementary School: 39
• Monmouth Junction Elementary School: 28

According to Feder, COVID-19 has had an impact on enrollment in ways the district is not fully aware of yet. “We don't know where these kids are,” Feder said.

The problem is not unique to South Brunswick, as many communities across the U.S. are seeing kindergarten enrollment shrink in wake of the pandemic. According to an analysis by Chalkbeat/AP, more than one in five New York City elementary schools had fewer than 300 students last school year. In Los Angeles, the number was over one in four and in Chicago, it was nearly one in three.

However, enrolling the children at the end of the summer would pose difficulties for the school district.

“What makes a district struggle is when these kindergarteners come at the end of the summer because that causes staffing issues, placement issues and other challenges,” Feder said.

The district is hoping that residents enroll their children at the earliest.

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