If you’re a superintendent or administrator trying to tackle public relations, this week's guests on District Administration's "Talking Out of School" podcast are here to help.
In Columbus, for example, the population has nearly doubled since the 1970s but the school district has lost more than half of its students. It’s enrollment now sits around 45,000, down from a peak of more than 110,000 in 1971.
The Salt Lake City school board’s January decision to close the schools came after the district first studied all 27 of its elementaries for potential closure. That study followed a 2022 report from state auditors, in which they criticized the district for keeping schools open with declining enrollment.
Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. downplayed the sizable enrollment declines plaguing some of the largest school districts in the state, labeling potential campus closures as a motivation for traditional public schools to “innovate and provide programming that is attractive to parents.”
As Florida's wildly successful school choice programs balloon, some of the states largest school districts are facing staggering enrollment declines—and grappling with the possibility of campus closures — as dollars follow the increasing number of parents opting out.
The Colorado Republican Party also encouraged families who feel their rights are being stripped to identify religious exemptions that may serve as a case against the new state policy on preferred pronouns.
In this new series, "TGIF Timesaver" aims to bring you pressing—and sometimes lighthearted—straight to the point news from the week to help bring you and your cabinet up to speed.
Seattle could close 20 elementary schools. Ohio's largest district also has its eye on middle and high school adjustments. But a Colorado district has halted its closure plans.
