County School Enrollment Increase Seen As 'Vote of Confidence'

The Baltimore County School System's enrollment as of Sept. 30 was 528 students more than had been projected, with a final enrollment of 104,540 students,  Superintendent Joe A. Hairston said.

"This is a vote of confidence for our school system," he said. A final enrollment report will be presented to the school board at a later date.

School officials also shared at a School Board meeting this week:

-The number of new teachers hired was down from the previous school year, from 513 this fall compared to 680 last fall. The low of 513 this year is also far lower than the number of teachers hired from 2004 to 2007, when more than 900 teachers were hired annually.
-The county also has 93.6 percent of its core academic subjects taught by highly qualified teachers, which is required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In 2004, only 62.5 percent of those classes were taught by highly qualified teachers.