Though it’s too early to tell for sure, Escambia County Schools is experiencing a small decline in student enrollment.

ECS superintendent John Knott hopes those numbers will increase before the schools have to report average daily membership (ADM) numbers.

ADM numbers are the numbers school systems are required to report to the state department of education.

Those numbers, which are gathered based on attendance the first 20 days after Labor Day, are used to determine the level of funding for a system, which include teacher salaries for the following budget year.

“Currently the school year is off to a great start. It’s one of the best starts I have ever had since I have been superintendent. Currently, we have 4,200 students enrolled in Escambia County school’s county wide. We are down by a small margin from last year at the present time but that number is more than likely to change by the ADM reporting time at the end of September,” Knott said.

“I am very proud to announce, that our career and dual enrollment programs, currently have the largest enrollment ever at the current time,” Knott said.

While enrollment may be down slightly, more students are taking advantage of the other offerings available.

“The career readiness programs and area businesses are currently working together to help supply students with hands-on training that will benefit them and allow them to grow within that particular business. This is a great program and the programs and attendance is steadily and rapidly growing,” Knott said.