Jeanette Wolfberg is reporting in the Columbia Paper public school enrollment in Columbia County declined 7.7 percent between 2009 and 2013, according to data released by the New York State Education Department. The county combined K-12 enrollment, in six districts, was 7,818 students at the start of the 2009-10 school year. Four years later that number had dropped to 7,219, a loss of nearly 600 students. The county’s overall population during the same period of time also decreased, but at a rate of less than two percent. Amid the general decline, however, enrollment increased for students identified as “Latino” and “Asian/ Pacific.” In five of six county districts, the Latino enrollment increased 46 percent and the Asian/Pacific enrollment increased 13 percent. During the same period, the African-American student population declined 21 percent, while the white student population decreased 14 percent. Read the full story in the Columbia Paper.