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District shows long-term enrollment decline; board weighs temporary configurations and consolidation options
Summary
A 14-year enrollment review showed steady declines across the Gadsden feeder patterns, driven by lower kindergarten cohorts and prior consolidations. Staff previewed temporary configurations for Anthony and Loma Linda during construction and discussed a possible future consolidation after the new middle school opens.
District staff presented 14 years of enrollment data May 20 showing steady declines across feeder patterns and a particularly sharp drop in kindergarten cohorts.
Staff said the district-wide kindergarten count this year was 744 students; the typical cohort attrition trend in the presentation was about 0.7 percent per grade. If current trends continue, the cohort now in kindergarten was projected to produce a graduating class of about 655 students in 2037. The Gadsden High School feeder pattern has declined about 33.5 percent over the 14-year window, a shift staff said reflects smaller incoming cohorts and previous consolidations such as Mesquite.
Administrators outlined temporary campus configurations while construction moves sixth-grade students to the new Gadsden Middle School. For the coming year staff proposed keeping Loma Linda as K–5 and maintaining fifth graders there to reduce transitions for students; the combined enrollment of Anthony and Loma Linda has fallen from about 920 students at the start of the dataset to roughly 556 today.
Staff emphasized the change is demographic rather than the result of local policy choices and suggested the district will continue phased rightsizing through attrition, retirements and targeted consolidations. They also noted operational steps — for example, absorbing vacant positions and using master-schedule changes — that would reduce the need for involuntary reductions in force.
Board members asked for further detail on staffing impacts, master-scheduling support and future timelines before any formal consolidation is proposed for board approval.
