Bedwell Enrollment Drops, Other Somerset Hills Schools See Increase

The Somerset Hills Regional High School district's overall enrollment dropped by two students between the last day of school in June and the number signed up for this September as of this week's board meeting.

But that only tells part of the story.

The district's new superintendent, Frances Wood, on Wednesday reported to the Somerset Hills Board of Education that enrollment at the grades K-4 Bedwell Elementary School stood at 634 students as of that day, a drop of 36 students from the number who finished the school year in June.

During that time span, enrollment rose at the Bernardsville Middle School from 566 to 582 as of Wednesday, Wood reported.

Enrollment at Bernards High School, which also includes tuition-paying students from Bedminster Township, was 802 as of Wednesday, the board learned. In June, 784 students were enrolled at the regional high school, according to the report.

Public school students from Bernardsville, Far Hills and Peapack-Gladstone attend the regional school district. Bedminster students attend the Bedminster Township Public School, before moving on to Bernards High School in Bernardsville.

The board and superintendent did not discuss what ramifications, if any, the shift in enrollment will have within the school district.