Out-of-district fees for students attending Cullman City Schools will see a slight increase next year.

At its regular meeting Tuesday, the Cullman City School Board approved a modest bump in the cost for out-of-district, or “nonresident,” fees for the 2017-2018 school year.

The increase will affect the cost for both individual students and for families with two or more students enrolled in the city schools.

Individual students who live out of district and attend Cullman City Schools will incur a $750 fee for the privilege next year, up $25 from the current individual fee of $725.

For nonresident families sending two or more students to the city schools, next year’s fee will rise to $1,300 — an increase of $50 over the current fee of $1,250.

This year’s increase matches the board’s action on out-of-district students a year ago, when costs also rose by $25 for individual students and $50 for multiple students.

Currently, there are more than 3,000 students attending the city school system across its five campuses.

Overall demand for enrollment in the city school system has seen a steady increase in recent years, with approximately one-third of the system’s student population hailing from outside the district. The system’s robust performance on standardized academic assessments, as well as athletics, continues to drive much of the interest in enrolling children from outside the school district.

In recent years, that demand has led many out-of-district children onto a waiting list for an opening at Cullman City Primary School. Yet there are conflicting signals when it comes to weighing overall population growth, or even a possible decline, against the ever-increasing pressure from out-of-district families to send their children to the city.

It’s been a topic of ongoing concern for the city school board, as the board examines various options to deal with overcrowding — at least in the near term.

Public records show the city school system currently enrolls 3,081 students. That’s down slightly from last year’s total enrollment of 3,116, but essentially level with the 2014-2015 enrollment of 3,091 students.

A recent study indicated local city schools enrollment could taper by one percent over the next five years.