he district expects more than 500 kindergartners to start school in the 2018-2019 year. That’s about 100 more than the current year of 403 kindergartners, which set a record for the largest kindergarten class.

Superintendent Kent Edwards says the district has plans to handle the student surge but if the growth continues may need to consider long-term changes such as altering how it handles requested transfers to different schools.

The increase follows years of slow growth in the district, with most of the new students coming from the northeast areas of Kearney.

Edwards says the extra students will raise costs, as the district spends about $10,300 per pupil.