St. Louis Park enrollment tops budget projection by 3.4%, district says

St. Louis Park Public Schools reported preliminary fall enrollment of 4,355 students on Dec. 10, 2024, 143 students — 3.4% — above the figure used in this year’s budget, Director Magnuson told the school board.

The increase reverses a recent downward trend the district had expected to continue; the budget projection used an estimate of about 4,212 students, Magnuson said. “For the first time in this reporting history, our enrollment is actually up, not only from budget, but from last year,” Magnuson said.

That change affects the district’s revenue and costs. Magnuson told the board that the enrollment increase will bring roughly $1 million in additional revenue but also triggers added costs “as we’ve hired some teachers and some other staff members,” and will increase spending on transportation, substitutes and special education.

Why it matters: Per‑pupil state aid and many district revenues depend on headcount. Magnuson said the finance advisory committee will use the new data to adjust projections for next year but that the district will be cautious and blend increases rather than adopt the full year‑to‑year leap in the budget immediately.

Open‑enrollment and choice patterns were a major part of the update. Magnuson said 18.33% of the district’s students come to St. Louis Park through open enrollment from other districts, and that in fiscal 2024 the district saw roughly 794 students opt in from other public districts while 551 resident students left for other public districts — a net gain of students when only district‑to‑district flows are counted. When public charter departures are added, the net position is “almost even,” Magnuson said.

Magnuson used specific neighboring districts as examples: the district generally gains students from Minneapolis and Robbinsdale but has net losses to Hopkins, Edina and Minnetonka. She said Minnetonka retains a particularly high share of resident students while Hopkins has a lower resident capture rate.

The board asked several operational questions. Board members pressed on classroom capacity and staffing: Magnuson said the district added sections at Susan Lindgren this year (three additional teachers there) after enrollment came in higher than projected, and that administrators will make midyear adjustments when necessary but that hiring late carries fiscal and logistical cost.

The board also discussed kindergarten and program‑level geography. Kindergarten enrollment was 25 students above projection, Magnuson said; she noted that Park Spanish Immersion (PSI) continues to have more applicants than seats and that enrollment choices produce racial disparities. Citing recent data, Magnuson said PSI’s student population is about 75% white and that, by boundary, residents who leave to attend PSI are disproportionately white compared with the district and their boundary schools.

Magnuson said the district will provide more detail on waiting‑list demographics and on where open‑enrolled students live if the board wants that data. She told the board that communication and family outreach over the summer helped recover students who otherwise might have been lost.

Board members asked whether special education students open‑enroll; Magnuson said students do open‑enroll with special education needs but she did not have the percentage breakdown available at the meeting and offered to provide that later.

The board received the enrollment and budget update; Magnuson said the finance group will propose any revenue increases to the board in spring budget work sessions after the district confirms the durable trend.