As the state's unemployment rate topped 10 percent, several private and parochial schools in Middle Tennessee reported small reductions in enrollment, while others said they kept students by offering more financial aid.
Williamson County's public schools saw a 500-student influx from private schools this year, spokeswoman Lydia Glynn wrote in an e-mail.
The district decided to track the numbers because officials expected economic conditions to bring transfers from private schools. While the district did pick up private school students, it did not have as many new students move into the county as anticipated.
"Unfortunately, we have to do our budget so early that we can't always make major adjustments," said Carol Birdsong, a Williamson County Schools spokeswoman.
"… But since we didn't grow like we projected that we would from people moving in, really, we were just able to absorb the private school kids."
Wilson County reported 85 students coming in from private and home schools, a figure tracked through assessments given incoming students. Representatives from Sumner County, Rutherford County and Metro Nashville schools said they don't track where new students come from.
Still, there are some indicators of movement. Steve Chauncy, principal at Hillwood High School in Nashville, said the school had gained 20 new students from private schools.
It's tough to get a clear picture of movement between public and private schools because private schools typically closely guard information about their enrollment, finances and plans, to protect their image, said Dale Ballou, an economist and associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University.
But the effects of past economic downturns were noticeable particularly in Catholic schools, he said.
"This time … there may be an impact in some of the newer Christian schools that's more or less for the same reason: A lot of the people there don't have a lot of money, and the schools are run on pretty tight budgets," he said.
(2 of 3)Take a Back-to-School Approach to ProspectingFather Ryan High School feels effects of recession
