York City SD reports rising enrollment, warns of seniors off-track for graduation and supply pressures on devices and budget

At the Feb. 19 York City SD board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Berry reported districtwide enrollment, graduation-pathway progress and budget considerations to the board.

Dr. Berry said district enrollment stood at 6,362 students and that the district has been averaging about 31 new enrollments per month over the last two months, a pace he described as "a full classroom" if sustained.

On graduation progress, Dr. Berry said 89 students had made no progress toward a graduation pathway as of January 2025 and the district has added course-failure columns to its tracking. He reported 29 seniors failing one course and 36 seniors failing two or more courses; 28 seniors had completed all graduation requirements as of January. Three seniors, he said, will need summer school to graduate.

"Starting in March... letters will go home pretty much weekly and biweekly" to notify students and families about pathway status, Dr. Berry said, characterizing the outreach as intensified counseling, tutoring offers and appointments to move students onto a path to graduate.

Board members asked what additional steps the district is taking; Dr. Berry and staff described expanded communications, counselor check-ins, tutoring offers and night-school options. He said that with ESSER funds exhausted, the district previously used federal COVID-era money to cover summer-school costs and that funding for continued free summer school is constrained.

District leaders and board members debated whether families should be charged if ESSER funding is no longer available. In the meeting exchange, Dr. Berry noted ESSER had funded summer school in prior years and that the district must now consider alternative funding options.

Dr. Berry also raised technology-management concerns: the district provides devices, cases and headphones to students but has seen frequent breakage, loss, and, in some cases, devices entering pawn shops or being recovered during housing transitions. He said the district is reviewing policies about replacement and recovery but emphasized the challenge of repeatedly replacing devices at scale.

On federal grant use, Dr. Berry said the district has consistently moved some Title IV funds into Title II to support reduced class sizes in primary grades and that the district receives multiple federal funding streams used for technology, supplemental resources and behavior supports.

He highlighted partnerships and community supports: Family First Health’s mobile services, Communities In Schools case management at schools such as Ferguson K–8 and Hannepin/Hana Pen (as named in the district report), and the Bearkat Opportunity Fund’s partnership with JT Dorsey Foundation for soccer programming and other out-of-school enrichment.

The superintendent also addressed community concerns tied to immigration enforcement and attendance. He said some families are fearful and attendance is affected in places, and he stressed that the district will protect student access to free public education and follow the law. "We will protect our children," Dr. Berry said, adding that staff who undermine students’ rights should be counseled.

Dr. Berry closed by noting the budget process will include listen-and-learn sessions and focused surveys this month broken into academic, finance/buildings, human resources and athletics tracks; the board will receive a compiled budget presentation in March.

No formal board vote accompanied the report; several board members asked follow-up questions that the administration said it would incorporate into ongoing operational work.