Barrington School officials kicked off the upcoming budget season with a deeper dive into student enrollment. 

During their meeting on Thursday, Jan. 12, members of the school committee examined previous enrollment figures, the current student population, and student enrollment projections for the next few years. 

Currently, there are 3,331 students enrolled in Barrington Public Schools (kindergarten through Grade 12).

The New England School Development Council (NESDEC), which specializes in enrollment projections, is expecting Barrington schools to see little to no change in student population over the next few years. For the 2023-24 school, the district is projected to have 3,330 students; that figure slips to 3,327 in 2024-25. An increase is not expected until 2026-27, when the local school district’s projected enrollment climbs to 3,336. Officials warn that projections beyond five years are less reliable. 

Barrington School Director of Finance and Administration Doug Fiore said consistent student population over the next few years could serve to benefit local schools — instead of having to dedicate funding to more teachers to handle an increased student population, the district can focus on following through on new learning initiatives. Fiore could not specify the possible new initiatives. 

The projections did not include the potential development of the former Zion Bible College property. Just last week, the property’s owner presented a plan to the town to build a new 350-unit village with a mix of housing types and sizes. Some town officials urged the property owner to consider age-restricting a portion of the new homes, as that would limit the potential increase of new students into local schools. 

Barrington School officials included a brief breakdown of planned housing projects in the student enrollment projection data. Officials listed the possible development of Zion, as well as new housing on Bay Spring Avenue and at the former Carmelite Monastery property — they estimated the projects could bring nearly 650 students to local schools. 

Historical data

The district’s enrollment has not changed too much over the last 10 years. 

In the 2012-13 school year, there were 3,300 students attending Barrington schools. Over the years, that figure dropped to as low as 3,247 and climbed to as high as 3,358. 

NESDEC had projected that Barrington schools would have an enrollment of 3,341 students this year, which was just 10 students off the actual number. 

“The largest single variance of -29 students occurred at Grade 9, 289 students were projected vs. 260 enrolled, most of the other grades were +/- 10 students,” stated the district’s presentation.

The report from NESDEC stated that births increased by 9 from a previous ten-year average of 106 to a projected average of 115. The report also stated that non-public school enrollments decreased.