The principals of the four schools in Bamberg School District One reported at the district’s August 19, monthly trustee board meeting held in the Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School Media Center that they had a smooth opening of school last week, with student enrollment up or hold steady at most schools.

A student enrollment comparison from last year this time, including 4-Year Old Kindergarten, show that at this time last year, the district had a total of 1,512 students compared to a current enrollment of 1,519.

“We lost and gained some, so it’s pretty much a wash, we’re up by seven,” District One Superintendent Phyllis Schwarting said. “ We continue to be proud of the school district and the reputation it enjoys,” Schwarting added.

Richard Carroll Primary School Principal Curtis Williams reported that the primary school had a “very smooth opening” with five Kindergarten classes, first grade, second grade, and third grade classes each. Williams noted that the largest first grade and third grade classes had class sizes of 21 students with second grade being the largest grade with 110 students.

Richard Carroll Elementary School Principal Skipper Smith reported that enrollment in the fourth grade at the primary school was down slightly from 117 students last year to 108 this year. The fifth grade saw a drop from 126 last year to 118 this year. Smith said the elementary school had eight “no shows” and enrolled eight new students with class sizes ranging from 18-20 students. “We’re looking for a rush after Labor Day,” Smith said.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle School Principal Troy Phillips reported the middle school had a “very smooth and very uneventful” opening of school. The middle school currently has 317 students enrolled which is an increase of 24 from last year. The largest class size consists of approximately 24 students, which Phillips noted allowed the school to offer another section of advanced math.

Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School Principal Randy Maxwell reported the high school had “a tough opening” with the death of SRO Eric Bamberg, but a good first week opening otherwise. BEHS has a total of 51-employees with 31 teachers. Currently there are 128 ninth graders enrolled; 118 tenth graders; 99 eleventh graders and 125-12th graders for a total enrollment this year of 470 students. Class sizes range from 25-27 students with one English class consisting of 29 students. “We’re not real happy about that,” Maxwell stated referring to the class sizes, noting that the increase class size was due to state budget cuts and the lost of seven teachers over the last couple of years.

Also during the meeting:

. Board members were informed that 42-students recently took the American College Testing Program test or ACT with scores showing the following increases: English scores increased 1.5, Mathematics increased 1.3, Reading increased 2.7, Science increased 2.4 and the composite or total overall score increased 2.0 points.

. The board gave second reading approval to the following policies: GCF Professional Staff Hiring, GDF-Support Staff Hiring, GCG-Part-Time and Substitute Professional Staff Employment, JN-Volunteers and IJNDB-Technology Resources. The first four policies the board approved bring the district in compliance the federal requirement to have National Sex Offender Registry checks on all new employees. The district has been incompliance with the requirement to have South Carolina Law Enforce Division (SLED) checks on its employees.