BLOOMINGTON - Bloomington District 87 has nearly 300 more students among its ranks than last year, and Superintendent Bob Nielsen calls the surge an unexpected surprise.

"In the past we've seen stable and slightly declining enrollment," he said following the school board meeting Wednesday. District 87 leaders aren't sure why the enrollment increased this fall.

"We're not at a point to analyze where these students are coming from," he said.

He expects a better picture will emerge after the Sept. 30 housing report is released.

Nielsen told the board that as of Wednesday, 5,470 students were attending classes at the Bloomington schools, an increase of 291 over 2007-08 enrollment.

The biggest increase was seen at the grade-school level, where the schools absorbed 205 additional students. In particular, kindergarten, first and second grades are larger, he said.

Bloomington Junior High School gained 34 students, and Bloomington High School added 38.

To accommodate the growth, District 87 is hiring two additional teachers to be placed at Irving Elementary School.

Bent Elementary School, which saw a jump in enrollment in kindergarten especially, is "bursting at the seams," said Nielsen. "There is no more classroom space there," he noted. Parents of Bent kindergartners have the option of sending their student to Irving, where class sizes are smaller, he said.

Also at the meeting, the board OK'd two contracts: one for its education support personnel; and a second for its custodial support.

Assistant Superintendent Teresa Hill reported that 285 students enrolled in the district's summer school program, down slightly from 2007's 300-plus enrollment for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Nielsen told the board that the 2007-08 Illinois Standards Achievement Test scores have come back, and all six elementary schools and Bloomington Junior High School made annual yearly progress - a measurement set into place by federal No Child Left Behind rules.