By SANDY McGEE

CUMBERLAND — The school district is seeing an early, dramatic increase in the number of kindergarten students registering this year, according to Assistant Superintendent of Schools Susan C. Carney.

Carney presented student enrollment data to School Committee members and the public on Thursday evening at Cumberland High School.
According to the assistant superintendent, as of Thursday, 324 new students are registered to begin school in the fall. Approximately 283 of those 324 students will enter kindergarten at the start of the new school year.
“That is way ahead of last year,” Carney said. “It’s growing faster than it has in the years since I’ve been here. You can anticipate that there will be an overall increase.”
According to the assistant superintendent, the amount of kindergarten students registering has increased 30 percent more than registrations accepted at this time last year.
“I don’t know if it has to do with the economy, but we are heading in a direction that is larger than last year,” she said.
Carney will present an update of enrollment figures at the School Committee meeting on May 14.
School officials also presented an update of the school budget at Thursday night’s School Committee meeting.
According to the school department, the Town Council approved amendments to the overall town budget on Wednesday.
Those changes, according to school officials, include the mayor’s recommended reduction to the school budget of $377,157; a reduction to the master lease of $78,116; and a $60,000 addition to the town appropriation, The addition to the town appropriation was recommended by the Town Council, according to school officials.
This results in a total budget amendment of $395,273, which must be made up by the school department in the nearly $52 million school budget.
“We will have to amend that amount in the budget,” said Superintendent of Schools Donna Morelle.
The School Committee’s Finance Sub-Committee will discuss the budget amendments at its next meeting.
“I want to thank the Town Council for considering our recommendations,” said School Committee member Ryan Pearson about the increase to the town appropriation.
As prescribed by the town charter, the mayor will submit his budget to the Town Council on May 11. Two separate public hearings, hosted by the Town Council, will be held in May and June.
For more information about the school’s budget for fiscal year 2009-2010, visit www.cumberlandschools.org.