YOUNGSTOWN — An increase in enrollment at some Youngstown City Schools is causing the district to consider “internal movement” to offset staffing issues, according to Deputy Superintendent Jeremy Batchelor.

Batchelor at last week’s board of education meeting called it standard procedure that he’s been meeting with every building principal to review the staffing model in relation to enrollment projections for the 2023-24 school year. This review will determine which schools will need to make staffing adjustments — such as moving teachers from one building to another — depending on whether the current staff can handle any influx in students.

Enrollment increases result from a reconfiguration that the district underwent two years ago.

The reconfiguration, for example, saw zoning for some Chaney middle and high school students switch to those students then being zoned to go to school at East for middle or high school.

“We gave them (students) the ability to try to grandfather for about two years, but they had to provide their own transportation. So a lot of families have chosen not to do that and just go where they’re supposed to be,”Batchelor said.

When considering the change, Batchelor said the district read between the lines to determine that eventually East schools would grow to balance out Chaney until the schools all have nearly equal enrollment.

East High School has since seen its biggest freshman class coming out of the middle school in 10 years.

“The freshman class at East started off the year at almost 200 where in the last five years, they’ve never had more than 140,” Batchelor said.

Today, East and Chaney enrollments are about 30 to 40 students different, according to Batchelor.

However, Chaney has more staff than its projected enrollment calls for, while East needs more teachers since a few of them were moved to Rayen Early College, Batchelor said.

Attempts to attract new applicants for teaching positions have been made, but Batchelor said the district has found trouble finding qualified applicants.