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Superintendent says district is fastest-growing in Maryland; enrollment tops 15,600
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Dominic Stauffer said Wicomico County Public Schools enrolled more than 15,600 students this year, a rise of about 600 students and the fastest growth rate in Maryland by percentage, driving class-size increases and new needs for multilingual and other services.
Superintendent Dr. Dominic Stauffer told the Wicomico County Board of Education during its May meeting that the district is the fastest-growing school system in Maryland by percentage.
"We are the fastest growing, school system in the state of Maryland when you look at the percentage rate of growth," Stauffer said. He said the district now has "over 15,600 students enrolled in Wicomico County Public Schools," about 600 more than the prior year, and that the growth rate is roughly double the next-fastest county (Worcester County was cited by staff as the second-fastest by percentage).
Stauffer said the enrollment increase is creating pressure on class sizes and on services, noting a rise in the number of multilingual learners who require additional resources. He described the district as reflecting broader community demographic changes in Salisbury and Wicomico County.
Stauffer also urged the public to review the district's recent "State of the Schools" presentation, which staff posted on the district website. The presentation, he said, includes details on how local funding, state policy (the Blueprint for Maryland's Future) and district initiatives intersect.
Board members and staff said the district is responding with program changes and supports described in the presentation; Dr. Stauffer turned subsequent updates over to staff for more detail on the Blueprint implementation.
