With some kids, and probably some staff as well, wishing and hoping it wouldn’t, it did.

With some kids, and probably some staff as well, wishing and hoping it wouldn’t, it did.

School began Monday, Aug. 13, for more than 1,500 kids in the Sedona-Oak Creek School District.

Student numbers are still being tabulated for the West Sedona School, Big Park Community School and various smaller charter schools that feed Sedona Red Rock High School, new SRRHS Principal David Lykins has his number calculated.

Lykins said 581 students were predicted through student registrations to attend the school this year. Counts show 540 actually in classes this week.

That represent about a 14 percent increase.

“Last year we finished up with 515 students,” Lykins said.

BPCS early student count is around 450 and showing a 10 percent increase, according to Steve Gardner, BPCS principal.

WSS is still enrolling students.

Lykins said the beginning of the year contained a great deal of personal satisfaction for him.

Although Lykins was SRRHS vice principal and held

other administrative jobs,

when Kim Randall, SOCSD superintendent, introduced him as the high school principal for the first time, he received a standing ovation.

“The support of this staff was very gratifying. To see them standing and applauding was moving,” Lykins said.

The biggest problem he faced in the first week was excessive student tardiness.

Gardner said his school experienced the “smoothest start in the five years I’ve has been here.”

His biggest problem is afterschool supervision of students while they wait for transportation home.

Back-to-school means meetings and more meetings

The start of school also means the start of school site council meetings. Site councils are collaborative bodies of parents, community members and staff members at each school in Arizona. They make recommendations to principals and school boards on a variety of issues specific to the school site they serve.

While school boards govern entire districts, the intent of site councils is to focus on individual schools.

SRRHS’s site council heard John Parks, SSRHS athletic director, present the financial needs of all the sports teams of the school.

SRRHS has 24 sports teams with nearly 400 students participating and playing over 360 games, according to Parks.

He presented figures that show that all athletics cost $185,396.73.

At SRRHS they are funded, in part, by tax credit donations.

The tax credit amount available is $8,570, designated specifically by donors for sports.

Mike Cosentino can be reached at 282-7795, Ext. 128, or e-mail to mcosentino@larsonnewspapers.com