Pasco School District enrollment tops 17,000

The Pasco School District had 17,010 students on Thursday, the district’s first day with all grades after a staggered start to the 2016-17 academic year.

That count included 9,850 students in elementary school, 2,568 in grades seven and eight and 4,592 high school students.

District officials expect enrollment to continue to climb during the first week, stabilizing after Labor Day.

School districts throughout the Mid-Columbia — including Pasco, Richland, Kennewick, Finley, Kiona-Benton City and Columbia-Burbank — welcomed students back to class this week.

The Richland School District’s enrollment grew to 13,588 on Thursday. Kennewick is not releasing enrollment numbers this week.

This story was originally published September 1, 2016 at 4:34 PM with the headline "Pasco School District enrollment tops 17,000."