BANGOR – The school system has a stable student population that bodes well for state funding, a relieved Superintendent Robert Ervin told the school committee Monday.

Since enrollment counts in October and April are averaged and used in the computation of General Purpose Aid to Education, drops in enrollment “can be devastating,” he said.

And, since “reduced enrollment is going on around us,” Ervin said, he had cause to worry.

Latest census figures indicate that the number of children under age 18 in Maine dropped from 309,000 in 1990 to 301,000 in 2000. In Penobscot County alone there was a 7.1 percent decline, from 35,611 to 33,100.

But, “at least for this year, the numbers [in Bangor] provide much-needed stability,” Ervin said.

Enrollment in kindergarten through grade 8 decreased from the previous school year by only six pupils, down to 2,872. “That’s a very good development,” he said.

And although nonresident enrollment at the high school dropped from 183 to 175, the number of resident students increased by 49, he said.

The net increase of 41 high school students “is testimony to the fact that Bangor High School continues to be a very attractive option,” Ervin said. More than 1,400 students attend high school here, he said.

The superintendent said he had a few nervous moments when the first wave of kindergarten registration last month produced only 183 pupils.

“That’s off pace in terms of where we usually are,” he said.

But the numbers have been building slowly and steadily each week, he said.

Some of the credit goes to the banners on the elementary schools indicating that kindergarten registration is under way.

“They’re tacky but effective,” Ervin said.