Enrollment is up this year at Island public schools, especially in Oak Bluffs, which now sends the largest number of students to both its elementary school and the regional high school among the six Island towns.

And town officials are already sounding the alarm over the potential impact on school budgets from the higher enrollment.

For the second year in a row, Oak Bluffs remains the largest elementary school on the Island with a total of 398 students enrolled in kindergarten through eighth grade, compared with 380 last year. The town’s high school population also has grown for the second year in a row, with 11 more students this year than last. Nearly 31 per cent of students at the regional high school live in Oak Bluffs, a 1.4 per cent increase from last year.

School enrollment data was released this week following the census, which is done every year on Oct. 1 in public schools.

A total of 2,122 students are enrolled, compared with 2,075 last year. The gender split is about even, with 1,094 boys and 1,028 girls.

This year’s enrollment is the highest in recent memory and follows a five-year trend of student population numbers increasing slightly, Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. James H. Weiss said.

Enrollment is up at four of the five elementary schools; only the Chilmark School stayed flat with a drop in one student.

The West Tisbury School has 16 more students this year with an enrollment of 290, and the Tisbury School has eight more students with an enrollment of 324. A total of 363 students attend the Edgartown School, compared with 361 last year.

The student population at the Chilmark School fell from 62 to 61.

The entire population of the regional high school grew by four students, with 686 students enrolled, compared with 682 last year. The sophomore class at the high school is the largest class on the Island with 183 students.

Mr. Weiss said an additional nine students attend residential programs off-Island, supported by the public school system.

The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School in West Tisbury is not part of the annual census, but there are 180 students enrolled there, the maximum number allowed.

In Oak Bluffs, town administrator Robert L. Whritenour told the selectmen at their meeting Tuesday that the growing school enrollment could represent a significant cost to the town again this year. Last year in Oak Bluffs, an increase in the number of students attending high school contributed to the need for a Proposition 2 1/2 override of $600,000.

The question passed at the ballot box at the spring annual town election, but Mr. Whritenour said the town would do everything in its power to avoid another override this year.

“There still appears to be a feeling of pent-up need in the school system for additional expenditures and growth, and I think it will be a challenge to meet those,” he told the selectmen.

The actual impacts are not known yet since the high school budget is still under discussion by the regional district committee. A draft budget is expected to be ready sometime in November.

Olivia Hull contributed reporting.