Classes will be crowded into the next century, report says

More than 53 million children heading back to school

WASHINGTON -- The nation's public and private schools will open to more than 53 million children this fall -- the fifth straight record number, according to an annual report on school enrollment by the Education Department.

The report, released on Monday, said 53 million children will enter kindergarten through 12th grade this fall, up from 52.8 million last year. The new figure is considered a record because the department had lowered its estimate of last year's enrollment to 52.8 million from 53.2 million.

"We need to figure out where we will put these children," Education Secretary Richard Riley said during a school tour in Las Vegas, which has seen enrollment double to 200,000 since 1990. "Many communities need to be building more schools now."

College enrollment for fall 2000 also set a record of 15.1 million.

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For the first time, the department report predicted school growth through the next century. Officials said that by 2100, the nation's schools will have to find room for 94 million students -- nearly double the number of school-age children, ages 5 to 17, the nation has now.

These numbers will grow, officials say, because of increasing immigration to this country and a second American baby boom, coming two generations after the record births in the middle of the 20th century.

Riley called on Congress to pass a $24.8 billion tax proposal to help states raise money to build new schools and fix old ones -- particularly in urban cities where buildings have reached the 100-year-old mark and communities are too poor to get the money from property taxes.

A bipartisan group of 226 House members stands ready to vote for the plan, said Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, the tax law panel.

Figures show suburban schools also are bursting. Some of the counties surrounding Atlanta and Washington have nearly doubled their school enrollments over the decade.

California, Texas and New York expect to enroll the most children this year. Nevada, Arizona and Florida have posted the highest rates of student growth over the last decade. There are no state-by-state figures available for the century projections.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. Department of Education (ED)
Federal Class-Size Reduction Program
Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives
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