Fairport reports modest enrollment rebound and rising student need; UPK and special education increase budget pressure
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Summary
Deputy Superintendent Tanya Wilson said Fairport serves about 5,300 students and described a recent in‑year net enrollment gain of 76 students; officials said free and reduced‑price meal eligibility and special‑education counts have risen and will shape staffing and program budgets.
Deputy Superintendent Tanya Wilson said the Fairport Central School District serves approximately 5,300 students and walked through where those students are assigned across the district’s elementary, middle and high‑school buildings. "We have approximately on any given day about 5,300 students," Wilson said, noting that the district also serves 108 Universal Pre‑K students.
Wilson described a short‑term enrollment anomaly this year: 128 students moved into the district since the start of the school year while 52 transferred out, producing a net in‑year increase of 76 students. She contrasted that net gain with prior years—a net 47 inbound the prior year and a net negative 12 the year before—and said the district monitors housing trends, birth rates and local move‑in/move‑out patterns to refine projections.
Why it matters: shifting enrollment numbers affect classroom staffing, per‑pupil allocation, special education placements and technology needs. Wilson pointed to an increase in the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced‑price meals—cited at nearly 25% this school year, compared with roughly 18.5% in 2016—and a steady rise in students with disabilities, both of which can increase demand for services and require state and district funding decisions.
Wilson said the district conducts periodic contracted enrollment projection studies and uses those projections to inform staffing and resource allocation. The district also noted program expansions it supports—such as Spark Labs, strong music and arts offerings, more than 110 electives at the high school, AP and dual‑credit opportunities—and said some program costs (for example, UPK supports) have been carried in the general fund when state funding does not fully cover them.
What’s next: district leaders asked the public for feedback through a YouTube link and a QR code and said additional workshops will continue through the budget calendar leading to the May 19 vote.