CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ A new report says public school enrollment has steadily increased in Virginia in recent years. But the growth is uneven. Between 2008 and 2013, the report says less than a third of Virginia’s school divisions saw enrollment increases. Overall growth during the period was fueled by enrollment increases in Northern Virginia. This enrollment pattern is expected to continue over the next five years. The report says a substantial increase in annual births is the primary factor in Northern Virginia’s enrollment growth. Annual birth rates declined in most other localities during the five-year period. Northern Virginia also saw a larger in-migration of families with school-age children during the period. The report was released Thursday by the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
