School enrollment for the 2012-13 year took another downward dive this fall, continuing the past couple of decades trend of a sliding student count.

The countys four public school districts report 847 students at the beginning of the school year, compared to a year ago when the count was 876, a drop of 29 students.

Last years enrollment actually showed a gain of one student from the year before.

In the current school year, only Joseph School District, with a count of 236 compared to 233 last fall, showed a small gain of three students.

Other enrollment reports are 380 for Enterprise School District, a drop of 23 students; Wallowa School District, 229 students, eight fewer than last year; and Troy School District, two pupils, down from three last year.

Im disappointed, admitted Enterprise superintendent Brad Royse about his rather steep enrollment drop. Thats $6,000 a head, he added, referring to the amount per student that comes to districts from the state. He doesnt see signs of improvement in the future. I dont know what we are going to do. Were going to have to do some pencil sharpening between now and next spring.

The Enterprise breakdown is 202 students in kindergarten through 6th grade, 62 in 7th and 8th grades and 115 in high school.

Royse speculated the main reason for the downturn was that a number of middle class families, who had been hanging on by working several jobs, had moved out of the county.

Wallowa superintendent Bret Uptmor is also disappointed in his districts student decline, especially as part of a continuing trend.

We need to try to stabilize the enrollment, to look not just at the school, but its partnership with parents and the community, he said. He feels the only real solution is for the Wallowa community to generate more jobs.

Were going to have to watch our spending The more we save this year, the easier it will make things next year, Uptmor said.

Wallowa enrollment is 127 in grades K-6, 39 in grades 7-8 and 61 in high school. The graduating senior class is only 12 students; the smallest number of students is 10 in the freshman class, with the largest enrollment 22 in grades 6 and 11.

We just wanted to maintain where we were before, and a small gain is even better, said Joseph superintendent Rhonda Shirley.

One thing that looks good for the future is that Joseph Charter Schools persistently small Class of 2012 will graduate this year with nine class members, while the incoming kindergarten class has 22 students. Josephs sophomore class is the largest with 26 students.

Enrollment in the Joseph district is 137 in grades K-6, 35 in grades 7-8 and 64 in grades 9-12. The Imnaha School has five students this fall compared to eight last fall.

Ten years ago, in 2002, public school students numbered 1,016 in the county (down 88 from the previous year); and in 1992 enrollment in the four school districts was 1,486.