For the first time, Jackson School District enrollment exceeds that of the Cape Girardeau School District.

All Missouri schools are required to submit enrollment figures to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on the last Wednesday in September and in January. The figures are used to calculate funding received from a number of state programs.

Jackson schools posted enrollment of 4,349 students after taking a count on Tuesday. That topped last year's fall enrollment of 4,275 and extended the district's enrollment growth a fourth year.

Cape Girardeau schools had an official enrollment of 4,227 students Wednesday, down 42 from last fall.

Based on those figures, Jackson's enrollment exceeds Cape Girardeau's by 122 students.

Cape Girardeau superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent said he wasn't surprised by Jackson's higher enrollment. "It was going to happen sooner or later," he said. "It's been close, and they have had a lot of development recently."

School officials attributed Jackson's enrollment growth largely to an increase in affordable real estate and new school buildings. At 283 square miles, the school district is one of the largest geographically in the state.

"I think our community is more than the city of Jackson," said Jackson assistant superintendent Fred Jones. "Our school district takes up a lot of Cape County, and Cape County as a whole is experiencing growth. Jackson R-2 certainly gets its share of that growth."

Jones said a facilities committee has recommended Jackson school officials begin to prepare for another elementary school within the next five years. The committee also recommended building improvements in secondary school buildings to accommodate swelling elementary rolls as those students advance.

"We are giving serious thought to looking at sites east of Jackson and also making some improvements in the junior high," said Jones. "These are just long-range recommendations by the facilities committee and have not been board approved."

Tallent said he believes the Cape Girardeau district will experience enrollment trends similar to Jackson's growth in coming years. Cape Girardeau school patrons will see completion of an elementary school and vocational-technical school within the next year. If new, affordable real estate is available at the same time, Cape Girardeau's downward enrollment trend should reverse itself quickly, he said.

Tallent said: "We have several development projects that haven't taken off yet. As we expand the availability of housing, we'll probably see growth in enrollment, as long as that housing is in a price range the average person can afford."

Most other school districts in Cape Girardeau County reported small gains in enrollment this year. The exception was Delta School District, whose enrollment dipped slightly from 346 students last fall to 341 students on Wednesday.

Oak Ridge superintendent Cheri Fuemmeler reported an increase of 19 students from last fall to 346 this year.

Nell Holcomb's enrollment increased about 5 percent to 325 students this year. Superintendent David Fuemmeler said new housing opportunities and industry growth probably contributed to Nell Holcomb's growth.

"I would imagine part of it is due to general increased growth from Procter & Gamble and surrounding plants," said David Fuemmeler. "It seems like maybe a few more houses are available in the area, although there's still probably a shortage of housing in the district itself."