Alpine becomes largest school district as Utah enrollment grows

SALT LAKE CITY — About 11,500 new students entered Utah's public school system between 2010 and 2011, according to a report released Tuesday by the State Office of Education.

With that 2 percent increase in enrollment, there are now 587,745 students enrolled in public schools across the state. That's a bit less than anticipated, as last year's enrollment projections predicted an increase of about 2.3 percent, or 14,800 new students entering the system.

Alpine School District is now officially the largest district in the state with 68,233 enrolled students. Alpine surpassed Granite, which had been the largest district since the Jordan District split in 2009. Granite had a decline of 656 students from 2010-11, while the Davis School District grew by 1,665. Granite and Davis districts are now tied for the second largest districts with 67,736 students each.

Charter schools account for about 8 percent of all public school students, with enrollment at 44,892 — that's up from 40,132 students the previous year.

The enrollment report is based on an annual census conducted every Oct. 1 at schools statewide.

— Molly Farmer

Twitter: mollyfarmer