KELLY SCHOOLS SEE ENROLLMENT GAINS THIS YEAR

BENTON -- You wouldn't know it by looking into a classroom, but the Thomas W. Kelly School District is growing by leaps and bounds.

School enrollment has jumped about 15 percent in the past two years, particularly at the high school.

"We've gained 70 or 80 students, but they're good students," said Kelly High School Principal Tom Allen.

Allen, who is starting his second year as principal, said the growth hasn't affected class size.

"Most average 24 to 26 per class," he said. "We added staff so that keeps them at acceptable sizes."

Since classes started Aug. 18, 40 new students have enrolled in the district. Seven of those students enrolled at the high school in a two-day period.

Total enrollment for the 1995-96 year already is at 954, an increase of 50 students compared to enrollment for the 1994-95 year. About 480 students are enrolled at the elementary and 474 at the high school.

School officials attribute part of the growth to the size of the district. Kelly schools draw students from a 160-square-mile area, which makes it Scott County's largest district in area.

"We have a good reputation," said Superintendent Ron McSorley. "People call all the time and say they want to move into the district."

And many do. The Scott County recorder's office said there isn't just one area of the school district that's growing.

Kelly schools serve a large land area but most of the residents in the district live east of Benton and south of Blodgett, said Chuck Bollinger, a mapper in the recorder's office, adding that most of the growth comes from people buying small tracts of land for houses.

And to keep up from running out of land to build on, the Kelly school board last year approved the purchase of 20 acres adjacent to the school grounds.

"You can only absorb for so long," McSorley said. He said the board has discussed the possibility of a new building in the future.

The new junior high building was completed in time for classes last fall. Junior high classes moved into the new building last fall, which allowed the elementary school some room to grow.

"We didn't expect it but it filled up immediately," Allen said.

Scott County Central Schools, the next largest district in Scott County, experienced a net gain of 30 students last year, said Superintendent W. Ray Shoaf. Current enrollment is 414 students Enrollment dropped slightly this year, he said.

While the city of Jackson has benefited from growth, the schools have felt some of the pains.

Over the past 10 years, school officials have had to deal with some of the same growing pains as Kelly officials have, but at a faster rate. About 100 new students enroll in the Jackson district each year.

The district covers the largest area -- 550 miles -- in Southeast Missouri. In addition to schools in Jackson, the district operates schools in Gordonville and Fruitland.