Matthew De Guzman, 5, clung to his father’s arm as he stepped into a kindergarten classroom Thursday for the first time.

“I promised him I wouldn’t leave him,” his father, Roberto De Guzman said.

Matthew and about 45 other youngsters staked out Sunflower Elementary Thursday for Kindergarten Roundup, a day that helps future big kids acclimate to school life.

The growing number of Matthew’s peers has Lawrence public schools officials cheering. After at least four years of declining enrollment at the elementary level, the district expects more students for the 2005-06 school year.

At the kindergarten level, 24 more students are expected for a total class size of 744 students. And officials project there will be about 70 additional first-grade students.

It’s a small jump, but district officials are happy to see any increases at all.

“It’s healthy to see the young kids starting to come back to the district,” said Tom Bracciano, the district’s operations and facility planning director. “If it holds through, it’s a good sign for us.”

Last fall marked the first upswing in elementary enrollment in recent years, after the student population decreased nearly 13 percent from 5,595 students in 1999 to 4,886 students in 2003.

The district expects 5,024 elementary students in the fall, and 9,926 students districtwide. And under the state’s school finance formula, increased enrollment means more funding.

Is this growth a bubble?

“I’m hoping it’s not,” Bracciano said. “We’re hoping it’s a trend.”

Bracciano said he hopes the district will pay for an outside firm to study the district’s demographics and make additional projections. But a study could cost $15,000 and is dependent on funding, he said.

After 45 minutes with teachers Thursday, Matthew De Guzman had removed his hat to show a grinning face. In between gobbles of donuts, he voiced his approval of the school.

6News video: Kindergarten starts early for students, parents (05-05-05)

“I like it,” he said. “It’s a big school.”

But he had a burning question that he had not yet asked teachers about: why are there no car seats on the school bus?