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Osseo reports modest enrollment gains, flags private-school shift and class-size costs
Summary
District staff reported a current pre-K–12 enrollment of about 21,009, noted a notable rise in residents attending private/homeschool options (2,985, up 604), and outlined how lowering class-size targets would require multimillion-dollar staffing investments; board asked for school-level averages and follow-up surveys of families who left.
John Morstad, the districts executive director of finance and operations, presented November 1 enrollment counts and multi-year projections and emphasized the link between enrollment and district budgeting and staffing.
Morstad said the districts pre‑K–12 enrollment is 21,009 students, an increase of about 359 students (roughly 1.7%) over last year. He flagged a sizable increase in residents attending private or homeschool options: "Osseo Schools residents attending private/homeschools made up 2,985 students this year. That is an increase of 604 students over the previous year," Morstad said. As a result, the districts resident capture rate—families who live in the district and choose Osseo schools—was reported at 67.3%, down 0.8 percentage points from the prior year.
Staff said open-enrollment and tuition arrangements remain important factors and named neighboring districts commonly involved in student movement. The board asked staff to follow up with exit surveys to understand why families left for private or homeschool options; staff agreed to analyze the data and report back.
India Ermiter, director of operations, reviewed class-size targets and averages and explained the cost implications of changing targets. She said reducing an elementary grade-level target by one student across the district was presented as costing roughly $1,500,000 annually because of added teacher and related staffing costs. Board members requested school-level average class-size reports to assess how recent boundary changes will affect specific buildings and asked how compensatory funding is used to adjust local staffing.
Staff said updated projections that incorporate family choices for remaining at their current schools will be released in early January and the enrollment team will continue daily monitoring and staffing contingency planning.
