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Granite Falls business officer reports kindergarten decline, surge in running-start participation
Summary
Business officer Marcia Cruz told the board the district is down significantly in kindergarten on the Sept. count but has seen 20 new enrollments since Monday and a jump in running-start FTE from 21 to 38; staff are monitoring Crossroads counts and following up on missing immunization records per state rules.
Marcia Cruz presented the district’s business and enrollment report at the Sept. 11 board meeting, reporting the district’s September count and highlighting shifting enrollment patterns.
Cruz said the district’s overall K–12 headcount was reported in the slides as 2,238 students and that kindergarten is down ‘‘significantly’’ compared with projections; the district withheld hiring one kindergarten teacher as a contingency. She said staff have already recorded 20 new enrollments since Monday and that those new registrants were spread across grade levels (including high school and middle school), which may push the district’s numbers closer to budget by the next count.
Cruz also reported a notable increase in running-start participation: the district’s running-start FTE rose from 21 last year to 38 this year, meaning more high-school students are taking college-credit courses. She said Crossroads (alternative program) enrollment transfers from the traditional high school continue to occur (roughly 20–30 students historically) and that the district is monitoring those shifts.
On immunizations, Cruz and staff discussed state law changes that tightened the window for unvaccinated students to remain in school; district nurses track missing records and staff reach out to families and community clinics to help students get immunized. Cruz said the district uses nurses and student-support advocates to help families resolve documentation gaps.
The board asked for deeper dives into who is new to the district versus returning students, and staff said they will run follow-up analyses for a future meeting.
