(St. Paul)– Schools around Minnesota are grappling with declining enrollment in both rural and urban areas as students head back to class.
Between 1996 and 2003, 71 percent of school districts saw enrollment fall, with student counts in 144 districts dropping by ten percent or more.
The state Department of Education expects 80 percent of districts to be in decline by 2006.
The reason? Shrinking population, aging residents and smaller households.
And in Minnesota, where most school aid is allocated based on the number of students, the shinking enrollment means less money to educate the students.
Because of fixed costs like having a principal, a building and school buses, when there are fewer students it costs more to educate each student.
Some of the steepest enrollment declines occurred in southwest and south central Minnesota. Blue Earth saw a 19 percent drop in enrollment, going from 1,764 students in 1996 to 1,426 in 2003. The Fairmont school district posted an 18 percent decline…going from 2,282 in 1996 to 1,867 in 2003; and Jackson County Central saw its enrollment decline 17 percent…going from 1,626 in 1996 to 1,353 in 2003.
The lake Crystal-Welcome-Memorial School District posted the largest decline in the state with a loss of 31 percent–going from 1,210 in 1996 to 835 students in 2003.
(Story from the Associated Press).
