Hanover County’s school population has flat-lined. Unlike school systems in Chesterfield and Henrico counties, which continue to grow despite the recession, Hanover’s student growth started to slow in 2006. Its K-12 enrollment dropped from 18,844 in 2006 to 18,420 this year, and the projection for next year is 18,260. That’s after more than 2,500 new students joined the school system from 1999 to 2006.

The doorbell rang at the Satterwhite household in Hanover County yesterday morning, and for a few seconds, 10-year-olds Kara Satterwhite and Janak Jaini didn’t move. They knew who was on the other side, and the excitement seemed to momentarily stop them in their tracks. After all, it’s not every day a NASCAR legend is waiting on your front porch to escort you to school.

For six years, Hanover County resident Amy Whittaker has followed Hanover High School football without going to a single game. The school’s public-announcement system was so loud, she said, she could hear every play from inside her Whippoorwill Road home, which is behind the school property off U.S. 301. Whittaker said the noise has also scared her livestock. She recalled a time when her horses got spooked, kicked open the fence and went running down U.S. 301 in a panic.

Twenty Hanover County residents addressed the Board of Supervisors last night during a public hearing on the county’s proposed budget of $394 million for 2009-10, the capital-improvements plan, tax rates and more. Half of the speakers represented the school division or teacher’s organizations. They urged the board to adopt the school budget, which is part of the county’s budget.