Inside Track
As Public-school Enrollments Drop, So Do School Budgets
Public schools are opening across the country, but many students aren’t returning. And that, as the Associated Press reported April 30, is causing many public schools major budgetary difficulties.
In Houston, for example, 11,000 students haven’t returned, forcing the district to cut $60 million from next year’s budget. In Olathe, Kansas, 800 students haven’t returned, forcing the district to cut 140 jobs. In Albuquerque, so many students are being homeschooled that the school district is facing a budget shortfall of $25 million. In Minneapolis, the school district has lost more than 4,000 students, resulting in a budget deficit of $27 million. In Lawrence, Kansas, school officials are being forced to deal with a $7 million shortfall, while in Des Moines, 1,600 students haven’t returned, causing a $9 million deficit.
Strategies for dealing with these shortfalls range from laying off substitute teachers and aides, merging upper and lower age classes, cutting athletic and other budgets, and closing schools altogether. Some districts are even selling school buildings to raise revenue to cover the deficits.
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