Groton — More students are leaving Groton Public Schools to attend magnet schools elsewhere, according to the district's Oct. 1 enrollment data, the official date the State Department of Education uses to measure enrollment statewide.

Total enrollment in Groton remained stable, falling less than 0.2 percent, from 4,954 students last year to 4,946 this year.

But the number of students leaving the district to attend magnet schools rose by almost 14 percent — from 308 regular education students last year to 351 students this year.

The number of special education students choosing magnet schools remained stable, with 53 students enrolled last year and 54 enrolling this year.

Superintendent Michael Graner said tuition for additional magnet students would cost at least $110,000.

"So I think it shows, number one, that there definitely is an appetite in Groton for parents to be able to choose, whether it's a (science, technology, engineering and math) school or a performing arts school, a themed magnet school," Graner said. "Clearly, there's an appetite there."

When a student leaves for a magnet program, the district must pay tuition for the program.

The district most recently estimated the cost at $2.4 million, but Graner said that figure may be adjusted depending on schools the students attend and the services required by special needs students attending magnet programs.

The Marine Science Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut charges a tuition of about $5,600, and Groton pays about $3,000 for each student who attends an elementary magnet school in New London, Graner said.

The math- and science-based Winthrop STEM Elementary Magnet School in New London has enrolled 91 students from Groton this year, including 29 new to the school, said Julianne Hanckel, communications manager for the New London school district.

New London's performing and visual arts program, Nathan Hale Magnet Elementary School, has 50 students from Groton enrolled, she said.

To maintain magnet status and be eligible for full state magnet school funding, a school must enroll at least 25 percent of its students from outside the district.

Winthrop has an out-of-district enrollment of 30 percent, Hanckel said.

Nathan Hale is at 21 percent, up from about 13 percent the previous year, she said.

Graner said Groton needs to modernize its schools and create magnet programs to compete in an era of school choice.

He has sought to make Robert E. Fitch High School an international baccalaureate magnet school and start a comparable program in middle school.

A townwide task force is also working on a proposal called the Groton 2020 Plan, which would build one new middle school near Fitch and two new elementary schools at the site of the current Carl C. Cutler and West Side middle schools. Three older elementary schools in Groton would close.

"It's interesting that our total numbers are actually quite stable, with a Navy population that is highly mobile," Graner said. "But when it all settles down, and you take a snapshot on Oct. 1, you see that Groton Public Schools is serving about 5,000."

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim