Novato school district in Marin County sees significant enrollment jump

In a significant turnaround, the Novato Unified School District in Marin County has nearly reversed its earlier looming enrollment decline, increasing this year by almost 300 students, the Marin Independent Journal reported.

“Our enrollment has gone up from 7,168 students last year to 7,439 now,” Jan La Torre-Derby, the district superintendent, told district trustees during a meeting Tuesday.

Only eight months ago, the district was forced to cut $4 million from its budget to offset future deficit spending or insolvency because of falling enrollment.

The cuts in January also led to layoffs for about 30 teachers — a move that the district might want to take back because of teacher shortages in Marin and elsewhere, the newspaper reported.

“We have so far hired 42 people,” La Torre-Derby told the trustees. “Our human resources department is working day and night.”