The DeSoto County School District is down about 150 students from last year and faces an estimated funding shortfall of roughly $3.6 million, Superintendent Dr. Bennett told the school board at its meeting. The board heard that a recruitment campaign and administrative spending limits are planned to try to close the gap.
The shortfall matters because lower enrollment reduces state funding tied to average daily attendance and the district also experienced an additional withholding by the state, Dr. Bennett said. He told the board the enrollment loss “equates to about $1,300,000,” and that an additional roughly $2,300,000 was withheld by the state, bringing the combined impact to about $3,600,000.
Dr. Bennett said the district has invited a recruitment firm, CASIA, to present its planned campaign and that staff expect the campaign to begin in November. “We’re thinking probably 03:30 on the day of 1 of the board meetings, and we’ll get the Cassia folks down here to address the board, or we’ll do it via Zoom,” he said. The board will set a specific time for that presentation.
To curb spending while enrollment remains lower, Dr. Bennett said administrators will consider cost‑saving measures implemented via administrative memorandum: restrictions on travel, required use of district vehicles when possible and limiting motel nights unless an alternate funding source is available. He framed the measures as needed to “censor belts up” in light of revenue loss.
Board member Miss Schuman praised staff work on related programs and clarified that federal funds tied to adult education and family literacy are arriving after a delay. “Kudos to Kathy Severson and her staff, for really just being ready to hit the ground running with these adult education and family literacy classes that are just gonna be coming online this week,” Miss Schuman said.
District enrollment numbers cited by Dr. Bennett placed current enrollment at roughly 4,060–4,070 students, down from about 4,800 in February 2021. He also said high‑school graduation rates are tracking higher this year than in the recent past and estimated the current high school cohort’s graduation rate would be “over 70%” if they graduated today.
Next steps: the board will schedule the CASIA presentation and staff will prepare the proposed administrative memorandum setting temporary spending restrictions for board review.