Board hears enrollment losses and expected state revenue hit as students move to charter and magnet schools

Superintendent Francis Touchette and the finance team told the board the district recorded an enrollment decline in the most recent October 1 count, with "800 plus" students lost versus the prior year and a net figure of 917 reported in one chart. The presentation said some of those students enrolled in brick-and-mortar charter schools and that in several cases district staff could not locate students in the parish system.

Finance director Anthony Lejern said the migration to charter schools has a direct revenue effect under Louisiana’s Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) rules and local transfers. Lejern projected that 900 students correspond to roughly $4.5 million in lost state revenue and pointed to specific charter growth figures in the district’s recent budgets. He also said local sales and property tax growth in prior years has been offset in FY26 by debt-service obligations and previous millage reductions.

Touchette highlighted magnet academy waitlist data and early-childhood figures as a focus for retention work. He and staff said some magnet programs had dozens of students on waiting lists, and they flagged examples such as 28 lost students associated with one magnet and 32 unlocated students for another. The superintendent directed staff to investigate where lost students enrolled, to maximize use of classroom space and to remove administrative barriers that might prevent enrollment in district magnet programs.

Board members discussed rezoning, the district's magnet lottery process and the potential for targeted marketing and pre-K expansion to recover lost students. The board requested written enrollment and charter-transfer reporting in coming meetings so budget implications can be factored into upcoming budget hearings.