ENROLLMENT IN OKALOOSA COUNTY SCHOOL ON THE RISE (BIG SURPRISE ?)

Enrollment increases in Okaloosa County Schools, and this is a surprise to the area. You have a couple of thousand new 7th Special Forces directed to come here and hundreds more of F-35 permanent party personnel coming, as well, on top of the normal military personnel moving in and out every year. Having recently attended a couple of local briefings regarding the 7th Special Forces, F-35 Training Squadron, and others, and more importantly working some these folks in acquiring their new homes, I am pretty confident, you haven’t seen anything yet. Because of quality and affordable housing not available in the numbers needed today, a number of these folks are making alternative plans in their housing situations until those quality and affordable homes become available. Remember, their home purchase is one of the biggest decisions of their life and many are making sure it will be the right one, if they have the time to do it. Some of our recent clients and others I have met are like deer in the headlights. Low supply of quality homes for sale, and hardly any rentals available to fall back on. Interesting. Yes, Crestview is where, not only the 7th Special Forces is heading in large numbers, but other folks, as well. Crestview is not the quite town of the North County, I knew as a kid. It is fast becoming, one of the most desirable areas to live. All I can say, is stay tuned. I warned many in the past of this situation. It will get more interesting in the very near future.

PS – EGLIN DESTROYS CLOSE TO 1800 HOMES RECENTLY WITH NO REPLACEMENTS IN SITE. DON’T YOU THINK THIS MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THESE NUMBERS ON WHERE THESE KIDS ARE GOING.

Enrollment increases in Okaloosa schools
Special Forces has brought students to the north end, officials say
By KATIE TAMMEN
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4440 ktammen@nwfdailynews.com  
Preliminary attendance numbers show Okaloosa County schools are seeing some growth this year. As of the third week of September, the school district had 29,441 students enrolled, according to figures compiled by the district. There are about 800 more students compared to last October’s official numbers. That is the district’s highest enrollment since the fall of 2009. “We are very pleased with the uptick in the enrollment and we’d like to see even more,” Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts said. The jump largely is because of the arrival of the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), said J.C. Connor, the chief information officer for the district. From what the district has gathered, the Special Forces brought about 1,000 students to the area. Most of them are enrolled in schools in the north end of the county. Three of the five elementary schools in Crestview have about 800 students. Bob Sikes Elementary, which had been declining, saw a jump of 94 students this year. Nearby Antioch Elementary, which recently lost about 150 students because of rezoning, is down only about 126 students compared to last year. School district officials are certain it will grow more. The School Board on Monday approved adding an assistant principal to Antioch to help deal with the large student population. Other elementary schools with 800 students or more also will get an assistant principal, Deputy Superintendent Rodney Nobles said. While much of the growth is in the north end, some of the schools in the south and central portions of the county also have grown. Choctawhatchee High School has 114 more students than last year. The school, which had been declining for several years, actually has a few more students this year than in 2009. However, the county’s three other large high schools have seen their enrollments drop. That has been the overall trend for several years, Connor said. One reason is that even though students start kindergarten in the county, they don’t necessarily finish high school because of military families’ moves. Several elementary schools in the central and southern portions of the county also saw growth, but district officials say that is because of new military missions at area bases. “There’s nothing dramatic going on (in the south and central portions of the district),” Connor said. “It remains to be seen if we’ve turned the corner or not.” The official enrollment count will be taken in October.