Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The number of students attending Franklin City Public Schools has notably increased beyond expectations according to a 2024-25 attendance and ADM update prepared by FCPS Director of Assessment and Accountability Meta Stratton.

FCPS Superintendent Dr. Carlton Carter shared the news with the Franklin City School Board on Oct. 2 via Stratton’s presentation.

The average daily membership (ADM) is the average number of students who show up for school, and according to Stratton’s update, Franklin City Public Schools’ ADM for budgeting purposes was 945 students.

Current enrollment for K-12th grade at FCPS is 1,066, representing an increase of 121 students.

Addressing the question of where these additional students came from, Stratton’s presentation stated, “Non-resident applications account for 21 students. All the rest are Franklin students returning from other locations (Southampton, private schools, homeschooling) or new students who have moved into the division.”

Summing up the School Board’s reaction, Board Chair Robert Holt said, “The attendance numbers are really exciting for us.”

“We say non-resident applications account for 21 students,” he said. “Well, of course, non-residents are people who live outside of Franklin that want to come to our schools, so that’s a good number. 

“Also, some of the kids that live in Franklin that might have gone to other school systems or homeschooling or private schools or whatever, they seem to be coming back to Franklin public schools, so we’re happy to see that,” he added.

He noted that FCPS has to report its enrollment numbers to the state at the end of September, as every school division does.

“From those numbers, the state gives us additional money if our enrollment is above what we projected, so we will definitely get quite a bit of additional money,” he said. “But we won’t get it for several months, so that’s not going to help us right now. Dr. Carter may have to go back to the city in a month or two and ask for some additional money based on the enrollment increases. So it’s a good problem to have. We’re happy with that.”

Stratton’s presentation noted that the school division’s spring 2023-24 ADM for K-12 was 968, representing 98 fewer students than the current K-12 enrollment.

Including pre-K, total current enrollment for FCPS is 1,126 students.