School enrollment decline threatens lasting funding damage for districts

Dive Brief:

• Low enrollment numbers could be permanent in some areas where students are moving beyond school district borders, cornering districts into difficult decisions, said education finance expert Marguerite Roza in a Tuesday webinar hosted by the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University.

• Even though states are putting in place policies to buffer the impact, shrinking enrollment could result in a significant decline in funding districts receive from their state, forcing them to think about whether they need to "downsize their operations,” Roza said.

• In the past, districts reacted to enrollment-related funding losses by delaying budget cuts, which depletes reserves and causes more financial strain later, Roza said. Most also resisted closing schools even when declines persisted, and many will likely delay similar decisions this time around.

https://www.k12dive.com/news/school-enrollment-declines-threaten-lasting-funding-damage-for-districts/593598/