Topeka ? Enrollment in public schools in Kansas increased by 6,100 students this year — a rate of growth more than twice what it has been in recent years.

Dale Dennis, deputy education commissioner, says state education officials were shocked by the rate of growth this year.

Dennis and other education officials attribute the increase to the struggling economy. They say some families have moved in together to save money. And others are pulling their children out of private schools that they can no longer afford.

But principals at private schools in Topeka say their enrollments are generally stabilized, although they are getting more requests for financial help.