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Brookings School District reports low kindergarten registrations and steady overall enrollment; board warned to plan conservatively
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Schultz told the board the district’s fall snapshot shows lower kindergarten registration and uneven shifts across attendance areas; the board was advised to plan a conservative budget and begin boundary work if low cohorts persist.
Brookings School District Superintendent Dr. Schultz told the school board the district’s fall enrollment snapshot mirrors a statewide trend of decline and uncertainty, with particular weakness in kindergarten registration. Dr. Schultz said statewide net attendance for the large‑school group is down about 800 students and that Brookings is roughly in line with earlier projections after last year’s unexpected swings.
The superintendent said district figures include a current unduplicated student count of about 3,465 and an enrollment figure presented to the board as 3,458; he cautioned that those numbers reflect a recent rollover of state data systems and a lag in special‑service data. Dr. Schultz said some attendance zones saw growth (Camelot up 8; high school up 3; middle school up 1) while Dakota Prairie declined by about 51 students.
Why it matters: fewer kindergarten registrations affect next year’s class sizes, course offerings and budget allocations tied to per‑pupil funding. The board discussed possible boundary adjustments and the need to avoid over‑projecting enrollment in the budget. ‘‘We’ve been conservative in how we projected enrollment so that we don’t get ourselves into a budget crunch,’’ the board president said.
Board members pressed staff on how the district would respond if the small kindergarten cohort persists; Dr. Schultz said administrators are preparing monthly enrollment updates and will give the board data that could be used to adjust class sections, staffing and boundary work. The superintendent recommended planning for a smaller first allocation in fiscal year 2026–27 and urged the board to treat current projections conservatively.
Next steps: the district will provide a monthly enrollment update to the board, continue work on boundaries tied to growth trends, and monitor state guidance on data systems that affected the current snapshot.
