Public Schools in a Bind Amid Enrollment Declines
Enrollment declines rarely mean anything good for school districts, which rely on good enrollment numbers for funding. One of the consequences for the decline has been school closures, with Reason Foundation finding data from 15 states showing 98 school closures in the 2023-24 school year.
Other ways schools have tried to save money is cutting classes and positions.
“So essentially, per pupil, when we think about declining enrollment, and what that really translates to is fewer resources, less support and opportunity for kids,” said Lin Johnson III, chief strategy, growth and finance officer at TNTP, a group focused on improving the public education system.
“So, as those numbers drop, funding drops, it means fewer teachers, bigger class size,” Johnson continued. “It means [a] cut in terms of supports that we care about, like arts, extracurricular sports as well, that our young people truly do thrive on.”
Read more at The Hill.
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About TNTP
TNTP is the nation’s leading research, policy, and consulting organization dedicated to transforming America’s public education system so that every young person thrives.
Today, we work side-by-side with educators, system leaders, and communities across the nation to reach ambitious goals for student success.
Yet the possibilities we imagine push far beyond the walls of school and the education field alone. We are catalyzing a movement across sectors to create multiple pathways for young people to achieve academic, economic, and social mobility.