Clayton County schools report small net enrollment decline since 2022; board hears recruitment and facility study plans

Clayton County Public Schools staff presented a five-year enrollment overview to the Board of Education, saying enrollment rose from 51,802 in the 2021 school year to a peak of 52,394 in 2022 and then declined to 51,079 in 2025.

“I would like to provide a high level overview of changes in enrollment over the past 5 to 10 years,” said a district staff member introducing the presentation. The presenter said the district’s figures come from the official end-of-year enrollment reported to the Georgia Department of Education.

The presentation cited national projections from the National Center for Education Statistics showing an expected 5% decline in total public-school enrollment and a roughly 6% decline in grades 9–12 over a comparable period. District staff listed local factors they said are likely contributing to Clayton County’s trend: a relatively flat county population and lower birth rates, housing costs and mobility, and post–COVID-19 evictions. Staff also noted the possible implications of state and federal policy changes.

District staff described program and planning responses the board should consider. They said the district must focus recruitment and supports at key transition points (pre-K and kindergarten; fifth to sixth grade; and eighth to ninth grade), repurpose underused space to meet program needs, and leverage land access for longer-term capacity and growth planning. Staff emphasized keeping equity and student supports central to those strategies.

On early-childhood enrollment, staff said the district intends to recruit younger children. “We will serve 3 year olds in our program. So we are going to actively recruit those students,” a staff member said, noting that outreach had already begun.

Human-resources staff said they use data to drive strategic teacher recruitment beyond state lines. “Our HR team works very hard to look at our data to drive their strategic recruitment plans,” a human-resources staff member said, describing recruitment efforts to find teachers in other states and regions.

Facilities and capacity were raised as part of the planning discussion. Staff pointed to new and existing school capacity as areas under study. The presentation cited Forest Park Middle School as an example, saying that school has a reported FDE of 400, and staff said they are studying opportunities at two elementary schools and two middle schools as potential sites for capacity increases. Staff said they are still studying options and are not yet presenting specific proposals to the board.

The presenter also described the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), saying it allows qualifying districts in Georgia to offer free school meals to all students without requiring individual family applications; staff noted that program and other meal-program rules could affect enrollment and service delivery.

Board members and staff discussed next steps including more detailed capacity analyses and targeted outreach for pre-K and kindergarten. No formal motion or vote on facilities or program changes was recorded during the presentation; staff said they would return with proposals when studies and community engagement warrant it.

Clarifying details from the presentation included the five-year enrollment points (51,802 in 2021; 52,394 in 2022; 51,881 in 2023; 51,102 in 2024; 51,079 in 2025), a cited $32,000,000 capital projects payments total for a referenced reporting period (see separate finance report), and staff timelines showing meetings and outreach already under way for early-childhood recruitment.