Broward Schools Release Official 2006-07 Student Count

Broward County Public Schools published its 2006-07 benchmark-day enrollment count this month, the formal statistical snapshot used to set funding allocations, staffing levels and capital-planning baselines for the new school year. The report covers all elementary, middle, high, magnet, charter, alternative and exceptional-education campuses operated or chartered by the district, along with adult and technical-education programs.

District-wide enrollment continues at a level that places Broward among the largest public school systems in the United States. The count feeds into the Florida Education Finance Program funding formula, with adjustments built in for class-size compliance, English-learner programs, special-education services and other categorical lines. Additional reporting later in the year will refine the figures used for state-funding reconciliation.

The report is one of two formal enrollment benchmarks the district produces each year, paired with the survey-day count taken later in the school year. Both are used by the district's Demographics and Enrollment Planning office, the school board, the transportation department, the food-service operation and outside agencies that rely on Broward enrollment data for grants, federal program reporting and capital-planning conversations.

At the campus level, the count drives a long list of operational details. Bus routes have been adjusted to match the current ridership. Cafeteria contracts are sized against the meal-service count. Master schedules at the comprehensive high schools were locked in over the summer based on projected enrollment and have been updated to reflect the actual benchmark figures. Counselor caseloads, teacher allocations and special-education staffing are all calibrated against the same numbers.

Piper High School in Sunrise, like most of the district's comprehensive high schools, continues to enroll above 2,000 students this year. The 2006-07 count places Piper among the larger central and west Broward campuses, in the same tier as Plantation, South Plantation, Western, Cooper City, Stoneman Douglas and Coral Springs high schools. The benchmark figures will be referenced in the district's capital workshops scheduled for later this fall.