Leavenworth USD 453 enrollment falls below 3,000; district warns of $1.1 million shortfall

Dr. Adams, a representative of Leavenworth Unified School District USD 453, told the Leavenworth City Commission study session that the district’s full-time-equivalent enrollment has fallen below 3,000 for the first time in its history, creating a projected revenue shortfall of about $1,100,000 under Kansas’s student-based school finance formula.

The district covers roughly 16 square miles, Dr. Adams said, and currently reports a headcount of about 3,100 students while FTE is under 3,000. He said the district has seen a steady, multi-year decline in enrollment: a net loss of more than 500 students over the past five years and a year-to-year drop of about 142 students. Dr. Adams warned the trend begins to affect budgeting immediately because state funding follows enrollment: “More students equal more dollars, less students equal less dollars,” he said.

The presentation highlighted several drivers. Dr. Adams said Leavenworth High School’s larger graduating classes and smaller incoming kindergarten and first-grade cohorts show the district is losing ground at the entry levels. He noted the district is a feeder for Fort Leavenworth (USD 207) for tenth through twelfth graders under a state statute that designates the home high school for those students.

Nonresident enrollment has declined, too. Staff are continuing to honor grandfathered nonresident students (233 under recent policy changes), but when grandfathered students are included Dr. Adams estimated roughly 300 nonresident students remain. He also said student transiency—students moving in and out during the school year—remains around 500 students, the equivalent of another small district and a persistent factor in planning.

Dr. Adams described likely budget consequences: the district expects about $1.1 million less revenue while expenses continue to rise. He said the district is preparing “robust conversations” about the budget and possible right-sizing of staff and services. He told the commission the district does not expect to use a formal reduction-in-force (RIF) process: “We will not have a reduction in force. So no one will be forced to resign,” he said. That said, he warned some staff could be asked to transfer or the district may need to change pupil-teacher ratios and rotate some secondary electives and advanced classes so courses are not offered every semester.

Special education funding was raised as a separate pressure on the general fund. Dr. Adams described the statutory framework for excess-cost funding and said the state covers only a portion of those costs; staff reported the funding level is well below the statutory target and that the district currently covers roughly $3,000,000 from its general operations to fill the gap. He called those services required and not subject to cuts.

Commissioners asked about homeschooling and parochial enrollment; Dr. Adams said they are seeing growth in those sectors both locally and statewide but did not provide exact counts. He said expanding virtual-credit programming and other attraction strategies are among options under consideration to boost enrollment.

Next steps include district budget discussions this fall and continued coordination with city leadership on the potential local effects of enrollment-driven budget changes.