Demands on public schools are soaring.

During the 1996-97 school year, 45,200,000 students were enrolled in public schools, an increase of 805,000 (1.8%) over the previous year's total. The largest enrollment growth occurred in elementary schools, which added 335,000 new students, followed by senior high schools with 316,000, and middle/junior highs with 154,000, shows the annual phone survey of almost 15,000 public school districts by Market Data Retrieval, Shelton, Conn.

The five states with the greatest number of new students are California (131,943), Texas (73,100), Florida (71,500), Georgia (42,762), and Illinois (39,840). As compared to 1995-96, the top growth counties in terms of the number of new students are Los Angeles; New York; Maricopa, Ariz.; Orange, Calif.; and Cook, Ill.

As enrollments climb, the pressure on school resources increases. Districts cope with overcrowding in a number of ways. For instance, 512 new schools were built; 667 newly constructed schools were opened (including replacement buildings); and 2,225 schools -- primarily in California (1,244) and Texas (339) -- are operating...