Benton jumped by 91 students. Yet in Pasco, the student tally increased by only 15 over last September - a number that shocked officials in light of all the new home construction in the area, such as Sunny Meadows subdivision. Granted, tying school enrollment to gross job losses is a dubious proposition. But the economic health of a region certainly affects the number of kids in schools, Tri-City officials say. Hedges, like his counterparts in Kennewick and other districts, made conservative budget projections last spring based on an assumed decline in enrollment.
Officials usually hedge against any perceived decrease by staffing as sparsely as possible.
Tri-City economic development officials also were surprised by the enrollment increases. We really don't know why this is happening. A lot of us in the business sector expected a sharper decline. Morse said part of the reason enrollment hasn't plummeted is because many of the employees who took voluntary layoffs or early retirement are staying in the area and starting new businesses such as consulting from home. Licenses for home-based businesses such as consulting in Kennewick and Richland have increased over the last two years.