Superintendent reports enrollment gains, one-day school cancellation after Mount Washington water main break

Superintendent Dr. Bacon told the Bullitt County Board of Education the district’s 2025–26 enrollment is a rolling total and currently up roughly 228 students from the end of last year, and that officials are monitoring 10-day counts for final staffing adjustments. He also described a one-day cancellation after a Mount Washington area water main break that affected seven East End schools.

Why it matters: Enrollment drives staffing and resource decisions; an unexpected cancellation and the potential use of school buildings for early voting may require calendar amendments that affect instruction days.

Enrollment numbers: Dr. Bacon presented preliminary K–12 enrollment of about 12,637 students — “up 228 students from the end of last year.” He provided school-level changes as rolling numbers (examples cited): Bullitt Central +31, Bullitt East +62, North Bullitt +87; Bernheim Middle +16; Bullitt Lake +50; Hebron +20; Mount Washington Middle +13. Elementary kindergarten counts were lower than expected in several schools, Dr. Bacon said. He noted preschool numbers and additional student transfers often continue to come in throughout the first month of school.

Water-main break and response: Dr. Bacon said the district canceled classes for one day after a large water-main break in Mount Washington left seven East End schools without water. At Mount Washington Middle School, the superintendent said restarting the water system damaged a backflow valve and required shutting off water to that building while repairs occurred. He credited district maintenance staff, Lehi Mechanical, SERVPRO of Bullitt and North Nelson Counties (which provided fans) and Mount Washington police (which brought cases of water) for their response. Dr. Bacon said teachers adapted by moving classes to lower floors or outside and that the district limited disruption to a single missed day.

Calendar amendment and early voting: Dr. Bacon told the board he would seek input from advisory groups and bring a recommendation to the Sept. 22 regular meeting to convert one of two built-in professional-development Mondays in February (Feb. 9 or Feb. 16) to a makeup day for the missed day. He cautioned additional calendar changes might be required if the county clerk’s office proceeds with using district schools for early voting in May, which could close another two days; he said district staff hopes to find alternatives but had not finalized a solution.

Next steps: District leaders will review the 10-day enrollment numbers and potentially make staffing adjustments. The superintendent planned to consult the advisory team on Sept. 2 and present a calendar amendment recommendation at the Sept. 22 meeting if required.