A report by a Falls High School official last month included enrollment information that generated a few background gasps.
And while the sky isn’t falling, a declining student population is something administration is keeping a close eye on.
FHS Principal Tim Everson reported the school was down about 60 students from the same time in 2017, at the Nov. 19 Falls School Board meeting.
While the number may appear alarming, it is something for which officials were prepared. For the most part.
Superintendent Kevin Grover this week explained last years’ senior class had 101 students. This year, there are only 79 students.
“Right there is 22 kids we knew we’d be down, which we plan for,” he said. “That piece is not overly shocking to us.”
On the flip side, the district plans for about 70 kindergarten students to enroll in school, but this year, there are only 56. With 101 going out and 56 coming in, it doesn’t even out as nicely as officials would like.
“That pretty much takes care of the drop, but there’ s more to it than that,” Grover said. “There are some eye-opening numbers.”
Those numbers show this years’ sophomore class down eight students, and the seventh-grade class down five students from November 2017. The district tries to track outgoing pupils to see if they’ve enrolled in a neighboring district or moved out of the area, he said.
“I think seven of the eight moved out of town and there’s nothing we can do. That makes it hard to plan for,” Grover said, adding to predict enrollment fluctuations, officials look at what historically happens year-to-year and take an average.
“We see these shifts,” he said. “Having families move out of town is not good news for the community, either.”
Financial impact
The loss of students carries financial impacts.
The district receives $6,312 per pupil for students who are considered full-time equivalent, or FTE, from the state formula. In addition, there are additional sources of revenue such as the local voter approved levy, which is based on the students who attend school. The decline affects that as well.
Bottom line is loss of students or FTE is loss of revenue, the superintendent said.
A students’ full-time status is not included in monthly enrollment reports, which while accurate are from a business side, and administration looks deeper, he said.
“A student might be enrolled part-time online, or go to the college... There’s other factors to be considered,” Grover said. “The numbers reported every month show if we gain or lose students, but because of all the other factors, it’s a tougher number to explain when it comes to FTE students... It’s a revolving number.”
The overall reality does carry some concern, but Grover assured a bulk of the enrollment dip was anticipated.
“It catches all of us,” he said. “For the most part, it is predicted.”
