Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Enrollment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District reports modest enrollment decline; projects about 97 fewer students for October count
Summary
The Stanwood-Camano School District reported an average full-time-equivalent enrollment of 4,629, 36 students below budgeted September enrollment and down 25 from the same time last year; staff said they track exit codes to understand student movement but could not yet point to a single trend.
The Stanwood-Camano School District's superintendent reported that the district's annual average full-time-equivalent enrollment is 4,629, a figure the district said is 36 students under the budgeted September count and 25 fewer than this time last year.
Superintendent O'Banau told the board the district projects about 97 fewer students in the October count than the current year, and characterized the forecasting approach as intentionally conservative. "So we're off 36 from budget from September, and down 25 from this time last year," he said.
Board members asked whether staff had analyzed exit codes (the district's reasons for student departures) to see whether students were transferring to other districts, moving to homeschool programs or otherwise leaving the system. Staff said the district's data analyst provides monthly exit-code breakdowns and that, at the most recent review, attrition was spread across grades and codes and did not point to a single school or grade as the primary source of loss.
Why it matters: enrollment figures affect staffing levels and budget projections. The superintendent told the board the reported trend is larger than in the previous four years and will inform conservative budgeting for the upcoming school year.
Next steps: staff will continue monthly tracking of exit codes and report further analysis to the board; no staffing or budget decisions were taken at the meeting.
