N.C. reports record private school enrollment

A record number of students enrolled in private elementary, middle and high schools in North Carolina during the 2008-09 school year, according to state figures released Monday.

The state Division of Non-Public Education reports that 98,545 students attended private schools, up almost 900 from 2007-08. The figures don't include home-schooled students.

Wake County had the second-largest private school enrollment statewide, with 15,123 students, trailing only Mecklenburg County. Durham County had 4,290 students in private schools, while Cumberland County had 3,895.

Across North Carolina, 683 private schools operated in 2008-09, the same number as the previous year. About 71 percent of the schools are religious-based.