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Wenatchee SD projects continued multi‑year enrollment decline; district to refine numbers before June budget
Summary
At a board workshop, Sean Fitzgerald presented preliminary enrollment projections showing a projected decline over the next four years driven by lower birth rates, charter/private school competition and Running Start participation; district will refine projections ahead of the June budget and host a demographer presentation March 25.
Sean Fitzgerald, the district’s executive director of business and finance, told the Wenatchee School District Board of Directors at a board workshop that preliminary enrollment projections show continued decline and that the district will refine those projections before the June budget.
Fitzgerald said the district’s year‑end projection for 2024–25 and the four‑year forecast are “preliminary and will be refined throughout the spring before final numbers are presented in the budget in June.” He emphasized that the district uses annual average full‑time equivalent (AA FTE) for funding and that actual enrollment beginning in January drives state apportionment funding.
The projections flagged three primary drivers of the decline: a sharp drop in local birth rates starting in 2019–20, student transfers to nearby charter and private schools (notably Pinnacles Prep), and enrollment shifts tied to…
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