HORACE LANGFORD JR. / PVT Students disembark from school buses at Pahrump Valley High School. Increased enrollment this year has packed some high school buses. Advertisement

Enrollment in the Nye County School District is up by 218 students this school year, according to a head count last Friday.

Pahrump Valley High School reported the biggest increase, from 1,151 students during a May 6 count to 1,372 students last Friday -- 221 more students, or almost a 2 percent growth rate.

Rosemary Clarke Middle School is the second largest school in the district, with 1,245 students so far this year, or 73 more than last May.

However, despite the growing population in Pahrump, the four elementary schools in Pahrump showed an overall drop in enrollment, from 2,286 to 2,267 students.

The enrollment at Hafen Elementary School rose from 552 students last May to 564 this September. Manse Elementary School experienced a rise from 502 students last year to 516 this year. But Mount Charleston Elementary enrollment dropped from 591 to 556 students, and J.G. Johnson Elementary had 10 fewer students this year, with 631 in class last Friday.

Nye County School Superintendent Rob Roberts speculated about the reason for the decrease in younger students. He suggested that some of the new arrivals buying expensive homes in the valley may be more mature couples who can afford them, with correspondingly older children.

Nye County School District Transportation Director Cameron McRae said six school bus routes -- three for Pahrump Valley High School and three for Rosemary Clarke Middle School -- exceeded 70 students. McRae said he is rearranging the stops to reduce the number of students riding the buses. Notices were sent out to those students this week and parents of children enrolled in the school bus program were called.

"The high school, we've had some significant crowding issues," McRae told Nye County school trustees Friday. "We've been able to reduce those below 70 by shifting those routes to two to three buses below the 70 mark."

The capacity of the buses is 84 students, with three students per seat, but McRae said, "When we start doing over 70, it really starts pushing the limit."

Eight out of nine buses will now have an average bus load of around 50 students, he said. Two students on each seat would equal 56 passengers per bus.

Trustee Dennis Keating inquired about whether the full buses were coming from the south, where most of the growth is occurring.

Some students were on buses arriving from Mountain Falls and Artesia, two new subdivisions in the south, but a full middle school bus route was arriving from the north and northeast side of Pahrump Valley as well as from Comstock Park and Calvada Boulevard, McRae said.

About 70 percent of the middle school students in Pahrump are riding the bus, as well as about 30 percent of the high school students, he said.

In northern Nye County, Tonopah Elementary saw its enrollment increase from 215 to 223 students, while Tonopah High School saw three more students enter school, with 159. Silver Rim Elementary School enrollment in Tonopah was up from 102 students last year to 111 this year.

Enrollment in Round Mountain Elementary dropped by six students to 156, while Round Mountain High School had four more students, with an enrollment of 199.

Amargosa Valley Elementary School saw its enrollment decrease from 199 students last May to 180 this year.

Beatty Elementary School has 16 fewer students so far this year, with an enrollment of 105, while Beatty High School has 12 more enrolled, with 131 students.

Gabbs lost three students, with an enrollment of 59 so far, while the remote Duckwater School has eight students remaining in the one-room school house, down from 10 last year.