Public school enrollment rebounds in higher grades but continues to lag among younger students, and remains behind 2019 levels, newly released data shows.
Many districts in the Puget Sound region continue to record student numbers that are well below the enrollment they enjoyed before the pandemic, which has resulted in dire financial binds.
The state education department counted 1,800 fewer students in schools this year, with the sharpest declines affecting the youngest grades. The enrollment dips have serious consequences for every facet of school — from funding to staffing.
After years of reporting a declining school-age population, Denver Public Schools is seeing a surge in the enrollment of newcomer students - many from Venezuela - a country in a deep economic and political crisis.
While it's been an issue for years, public school enrollment issues have worsened since COVID, forcing school closures as we near the end of pandemic relief funding. In one state's case, researchers are forecasting a decline of over half a million students by the 2031-32 school year.
Buildings are being shut down as district leaders and communities grapple with declining enrollment, aging buildings, the end of ESSER and other fiscal pressures.
Enrollment patterns vary between public and private schools at a time when lawmakers are expanding school choice vouchers and advocating for alternative opportunities for education.
When Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson was hired in 2018, he was faced with an ongoing budget crisis. The district dealt with more than 10 years of cutting positions. Now, the sky's the limit.
Critics who argue the death of public schools is near are overexaggerating the reality of a healthy balance for school choice, researchers at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute write. Despite a growing interest in charter schooling, larger districts face little competition for students.
