The Ferguson‑Florissant School District told the Board of Education on Aug. 13 that 64% of returning and new students had completed online registration and that the district is preparing contingency plans ahead of first day of school. Executive director of support services Dr. Carl Eimhoff gave the update and said the district’s working projection is 8,778 students for the 2025–26 year.

Dr. Carl Eimhoff said why the counts matter: “Once all the records are cleaned up, then we have to post and we provide it to DESE and that is the enrollment we go with for that year.” He said the district had moved registration operations back into school buildings to increase family access and that the admissions center at Dunn Road is handling new‑student intake.

The update included recent registration milestones: on July 8, roughly 18% of student records had been submitted (about 1,569 students); by Aug. 13 that had risen to 64% active, about 16% in a “funnel” (documents pending), and roughly 20% not started. Eimhoff said some portion of the 20% likely includes duplicates or families who have moved and that the district is contacting families daily.

Why it matters: the district must deliver schedules, transportation and staffing based on the official DESE count submitted on the third Wednesday in September. Board members pressed for clarity on the 20% not started and asked whether schools can record when parents indicate a child will not enroll. Eimhoff acknowledged better tools were needed: “That is something that would be a very good tool to make sure that we do moving forward.”

School officials also described support for families who need help completing online registration. Eimhoff and board members said building staff, school social workers and ELL teams are assisting families; the district will run a post‑registration evaluation to identify process improvements.

Board members asked whether the unregistered students are concentrated at particular schools; Eimhoff said the distribution is “pretty evenly across the district percentage wise.” He said contingency plans for students who arrive without completed paperwork are in place at each building, and that children should not be kept from class while staff process documents.

The district asked families who have not yet registered to use the online registration link or to visit school buildings for in‑person help. Officials said they will report updated counts to the board as enrollment work continues toward DESE submission in September.

Ending: The administration said it will follow up on several board requests — including (1) adding an explicit opt‑out mechanism for parents to mark that a student will not enroll, (2) evaluating evening/weekend registration access and community‑based registration points, and (3) presenting a post‑action report after September reporting is complete.