The Alabama High School Athletic Association recently announced its classification for the 2020-2022 seasons, and the numbers show some surprising enrollment trends.

AHSAA uses average daily enrollment numbers to determine the class, region and area for a school’s sports team. Those numbers are provided by the state Department of Education, which calculates them based on the 20 school days following Labor Day.

East Limestone High remained the largest high school in the county, but enrollment appears to remain steady even as the area is regularly projected to be home to major growth. Meanwhile, in the northeastern corner of the county, Ardmore High saw a small increase in average enrollment.

Limestone County Schools Interim Superintendent Mike Owens, who formerly served as principal of Ardmore High, was unfazed by the numbers.

“East Limestone is our hotspot area, but looking at Ardmore, every road you go down there, there’s a house under construction,” Owens said.

He said part of the growth was due to people from Huntsville eyeing a less congested area. Alabama 53 provides a straight shot from the larger city to the Town of Ardmore. Owens said it might also be the reason why the other side of the county saw similar growth.

At West Limestone High, average enrollment grew from 327 students for the 2016-2018 classification to 344.15 for 2020-2022.

“As we see growth in the Athens area, we’re going to see some out in that area,” Owens said. “It won’t be as large as the east side, but we’ll be looking at some sustained growth even at a lower pace.”

In the city

Athens High saw the largest leap of all local public schools from the 2018-2020 classification to 2020-2022. However, that growth followed a 13% drop from 2016-2018, due mostly to Athens Renaissance becoming its own school.

While the school hasn’t bounced back entirely, it did grow by about 66 students, or about 8%. Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay said every school in the district could double its current growth rate in the coming years.

“From my back window, I can see 100 houses going in, and I just don’t see us not growing at the rate we are,” Holladay said.

He said when he first started as superintendent, there were 3,155 students in the district. As of this year’s 20-day count, that number was 4,480.

“That’s over the last seven or eight years,” Holladay said. “About 600 of (those new students are) in Athens Renaissance, but in the buildings, we grew 700 students. Over the next seven years, we’ll double that, I project.”

Private schools

Athens is home to two private schools. Enrollment figures were not available from AHSAA for the 2016-2018 classification, but Lindsay Lane Christian Academy showed a 60.4% growth from 2018-2020 to 2020-2022.

“People are recognizing our strong academics and our Christ-centered atmosphere and our competitive sports teams,” LLCA Upper School Principal Scott Luttrull said. The school is home to the state’s top high school basketball scorer for career points, senior Tommy Murr.

However, while they are proud to see the school grow, Luttrull said it’s also due to incoming students and grades that have been added over the years. This year, the school has 18 seniors and 39 freshmen, with more than 500 total students predicted for next year.

Athens Bible School, meanwhile, saw a drop from 106.65 in 2018-2020 to 91.13 for 2020-2022. ABS officials have previously predicted growth is right around the corner now that the school has moved into a much larger campus on U.S. 31, across from the new Athens High campus.

Elsewhere in the county

Limestone County Schools has six high schools. While half saw minimal growth or stayed about the same, the remaining three saw a significant drop in enrollment.

Elkmont High had an average daily enrollment of 294 in 2016-2018. It rose slightly in 2018-2020 but for 2020-2022, the school is down to 267. Clements High dropped steadily across the three classifications from 261 to 221.55, while Tanner High dropped from 200 to 176.15.

Owens contributed this to the four cities with students in Limestone County. While Athens is generally the only one visible on a map, Madison, Huntsville and Decatur have each annexed portions of Limestone County, meaning students in those annexed portions attend schools outside the county system.

He expected the decrease to change as those with school-age children move to the area for jobs at Redstone Arsenal, Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing U.S.A. or other industries.