Dr. Jackie Geddy, Minnetonka Public School District executive director of communications, told the School Board on Oct. 9 that the district’s late‑September enrollment count was 11,484 students and outlined where those students live and how open‑enrollment revenue supports district programs.
The numbers matter because the district relies on enrollment‑based state aid and open‑enrolled students to fund programs, reduce class sizes and maintain services during budget pressure.
“As of the late September count, the district’s enrollment is at 11,484,” Dr. Jackie Geddy said. She told the board the figure includes 11,303 in‑person students and 181 Tonka Online full‑time e‑learning students. Geddy said kindergarten showed 53 more resident students than last year and 48 more open‑enrolled kindergarteners.
Geddy explained that 40 percent of in‑person students — about 4,596 students — are open enrolled from other districts, and that 83 percent of Tonka Online students are open enrolled. She said open‑enrolled students come from 47 different sending districts and noted a concentration from neighboring systems such as Hopkins, Wayzata and St. Louis Park; some students travel from as far as South Washington County, Red Wing, Lakeville and Le Sueur.
The presentation described how open enrollment affects district finances. Geddy said the district received about $68,500,000 this year in revenue tied to open‑enrolled students; roughly $7,500,000 of that sum goes to expand program opportunities and lower class sizes beyond what resident revenue alone would allow. Geddy said the district receives approximately $14,448 per student from state aid and local sources and that more than $2,834 of that allocation per nonresident student remains after instructional costs and is used to support signature programs.
Geddy also summarized class‑size comparisons from the Minnesota Legislature reference library study covering 2024–25. Minnetonka’s average K–5 class sizes were reported as: kindergarten 19.2 (metro average 20.0); grade 1, 21.1 (metro 21.1); grade 2, 22.5 (metro 22.9); grade 3, 22.1 (metro 24.1); grade 4, 23.9 (metro 25.1); grade 5, 25.8 (metro 26.2).
On kindergarten specifically, Geddy said the district’s kindergarten cohort is 872 students, 477 residents and 395 open enrolled. She said if those 395 open‑enrolled kindergartners were not enrolled, the district’s revenue would drop by about $5,700,000 this year; after the cost of instruction, she said approximately $1,100,000 remains this year to support signature programs and student services. Geddy added that over the 13‑year K–12 span, that kindergarten cohort would generate roughly $74,000,000 in revenue for the district.
Superintendent Law and board members asked whether the kindergarten increase reflected in‑migration, delayed kindergarten entry in prior years or other demographic shifts. Superintendent Law said the district met with a demographer and observed similar kindergarten spikes in neighboring districts, noting both migration and possible timing effects in births and entry ages.
Board members praised the presentation and the clarity of the financial context. No board action or policy change followed the presentation; the session was a data and context update for the community and board members.