Report projects increase in student enrollment

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A report shows that public school enrollment in Iowa is projected to rise 2.4 percent during the next five years.

If that happens, it will break a trend of declining enrollment stretching back more than a decade.

The Des Moines Register reports Friday that a preview of the state’s annual education report notes that Iowa has about 1,000 fewer public school students than 20 years ago.

During the last school year, the biggest enrollment gains were in metro areas of Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City.

The report shows students are increasingly concentrated in urban area, with 9 percent of districts now educating 49 percent of Iowa students.

Some of the biggest gains have been among minority students, who make up 19 percent of Iowa’s student population.