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Mercer Island projects modest kindergarten growth; open‑enrollment students total 128 (about 3.2%)
Summary
District staff reported June 1 enrollment projections showing slight kindergarten growth year over year, a jump in sixth‑grade resident newcomers and a total of 128 open‑enrollment students (including staff and city employee children) as the board discussed how to present open‑enrollment categories.
District staff presented an enrollment update comparing June 1, 2024 and June 1, 2025 snapshots and answered board questions about open enrollment, staff‑child placements and class sizes.
Staff said kindergarten registrations stood at 165 on the district's June 1 projection, compared with 163 at the same point a year earlier; the district's total projected kindergarten class size is roughly 220 and staff expect additional enrollments over the summer. Sixth‑grade resident new enrollments increased notably (17 last year to 28 this year), driven by a larger incoming sixth grade.
Open enrollment: Staff reported a total of 128 open‑enrollment students districtwide, which staff said represents about 3.2% of headcount. The district also broke out children of district employees and city employees: staff said there are roughly 21 employee children entering elementary schools, 9 at middle school and 27 at the high school. Staff emphasized that employee children and certain city employees have enrollment rights under current district policy; board members asked that future slides distinguish mandatory categories (statutory or policy‑required placements) from discretionary open‑enrollment transfers to avoid misinterpretation.
Wait lists and capacity: At the high school staff said there is a current ninth‑grade wait list of more than 25 students, but the district is limiting additional placements to maintain desired capacity. Staff also reviewed projected class sizes at elementary schools: if school year 2025—26 began immediately, average kindergarten class size would be about 16.5 because staffing was not reduced and more students are expected to enroll over the summer; first‑grade class sizes were projected to be up slightly, other elementary grades were at or below current levels, and fifth grade was projected slightly higher.
Davis demographic comparison and funding: Staff compared current registration numbers to Davis Demographics (referred to in meeting as "Davis version 2") and noted differences tied to open‑enrollment flows; the proposed budget includes a $38.50 per‑pupil revenue assumption for next year in the draft budget document shown to the board.
Board members asked for clearer labeling and recommended separating the categories in future materials: "employee and city children" (policy placements), mandatory transfers under state law, and discretionary choice transfers. One director asked staff to show open‑enrollment counts per grade when possible to make capacity discussions clearer.
Next steps: Staff said it will revise slides to label mandatory versus discretionary categories, add open‑enrollment per‑grade counts where feasible, and repost the updated enrollment slides for board review.
