HEBRON — A look at Hebron’s Comprehensive Plan shows the town had more than a 50 percent increase in people ages 15 to 17 from 2000 to 2010, because the U.S. Census Bureau counted Hebron Academy students.

According to population figures in the plan unveiled at Wednesday night’s public hearing, the number of people ages 15 to 17 went from 63 in 2000 to 136 in 2010.

Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments Senior Planner John Maloney said Friday that he began making adjustments to the numbers and intends to decrease the projected population of Hebron in 2025 based on the new information. It is currently projected to increase from 1,416 to 1,720, or 21.2 percent, in 2025.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Richard Deans said he questioned the increase of young people and nationalities living in town because the numbers seemed unusually high.

As a result, he contacted the U.S. Census Bureau and was told that it had counted Hebron Academy students in the 2010 census but not in the 2000 census.

Hebron Academy Head of School John King told the Comprehensive Plan Committee Wednesday night that the school is now being asked to report the demographics of its boarding students. Those students would be in the age bracket of 15 to 19, he said, and would include students who are not U.S. citizens. Because they live the majority of the year in Hebron, they are counted as Hebron residents.

While the number does not have any significant impact on town services because the academy is fairly self-contained, it was important to correct the figure because it skews the numbers of the true population, Deans said.

Like the town, School Administrative District 17 officials keep a close eye on student numbers in order to plan effectively for the future.

SAD 17 Superintendent Rick Colpitts said Hebron Station School numbers are growing. While the numbers of students are included in the Comprehensive Plan in terms of their age bracket, school officials keep monthly numbers on students for planning purposes, including building needs and student services.

In 2000, there were 44 students at the Hebron Elementary School, which is now the Town Office on Route 119, Colpitts said. The number only included students from kindergarten through grade three.

By 2010, the number of students at Hebron Station School, which was built in 2002, had reached 132, but included kindergarten through sixth-grade students.

The latest numbers from January show that Hebron has a current enrollment of 149 students.

According to a study conducted by Planning Decisions of South Portland, there will be 157 students at the Hebron Station School by 2020, a gain of about 10 students, excluding the prekindergarten students who are already at the school.

The number may seem small, but Colpitts said the class sizes, which average 19, are of concern and the school building is almost at capacity.

Maloney will now rework the Comprehensive Plan numbers and finalize other issues that were brought up at the public hearing. The plan will be presented for a vote at the annual town meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 21, at Hebron Station School on Station Road.

ldixon@sunjournal.com