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Board reviews enrollment report showing multi‑year decline and discusses recruitment options
Summary
District enrollment stood at 13,136 for 2025 and board members discussed factors behind a multi‑year decline—lower kindergarten cohorts, housing availability and birth‑rate trends—and considered marketing and recruitment strategies including accepting nonresident tuition students.
District leaders presented enrollment data showing a multi‑year decline in total enrollment to 13,136 students, prompting board members to ask about causes and responses.
"When we first started...we were at about 14,200...now we're down to 13,100," a board member said, summarizing a roughly 1,100‑student change since the speaker joined the board. Tammy Nukem presented grade‑by‑grade counts and noted kindergarten enrollment reductions that align with a demographic study pointing to lower birth rates and limited single‑family housing supply.
Nukem also highlighted growing nonresident tuition transfers and a full‑time academy enrollment of about 150 students. She said some students are funded through separate grants for high‑service needs that do not count toward ADM but do bring approximately $1.3 million in estimated reimbursements.
Board members discussed investigating causes of the decline and suggested active marketing strategies to attract students from other divisions. One member proposed treating recruitment as a campaign to "target some other school divisions and say, 'Hey, come to Reno County.'" The board did not change policy in the work session but asked staff to revisit demographic projections and provide additional context for facility‑planning decisions.
Staff recommended further analysis and possible outreach strategies; no final decisions or budget allocations were recorded during the work session.
