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District reports enrollment growth, private-school uptick and 70% kindergarten capture
Summary
District staff told the board that November 1 counts show preK-12 enrollment at 21,009 students (359 more than last year), a resident capture rate of 67.3%, and a notable increase in private/homeschool enrollments (+604); staff said final projections will be updated in January after family opt-in surveys.
John Morstad, the district's finance director, presented November 1 enrollment counts and preliminary projections the board will use for staffing and budgeting. He reported preK-12 enrollment of 21,009 students, an increase of 359 students over last year but about 192 students below the district's earlier projection. Morstad said the district uses November counts as its baseline and will update projections in January after collecting family choices on whether some students will remain in place following boundary changes.
Morstad noted that open-enrollment students numbered about 1,722 this year (8.2% of total district enrollment) and that the district has regained some students from charter schools. However, private- and homeschool enrollments rose markedly: the district counted 2,985 residents in private/homeschool placements this year, an increase of 604 from the previous year and spread across 81 private schools. "So that is a big number," Morstad said, and staff said they will dig into the causes with marketing and follow-up surveys to families who left.
Board members asked for school-level breakdowns of class-size averages and for post-analysis of where projections missed the mark; staff said they would provide more granular data and survey results to explain significant variances at particular schools.
