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Star Tribune Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:19:24 GMT
Continued loss of students will cost Anoka-Hennepin

The state's largest school district is forecasting an enrollment drop for a second year and a loss of up to $4.2 million in funding. It's not alone, and the reasons are many. Anoka-Hennepin schools -- the state's largest district -- is projected to lose students again next year, marking the second straight year of declining enrollment after more than 20 years of growth or stability. Statewide, it's much the same story. Minnesota Department of Finance figures show statewide enrollment leveling off over the past couple of years after years of declines. Still, districts such as Mounds View, Minneapolis, St. Paul, White Bear Lake and Robbinsdale, as well as a host of other districts, continue to lose students. Mostly, the enrollment loss is the result of a demographic blip of smaller population growth, with a smaller pool of students now passing through the schools. But other factors -- more school choices, a depressed housing market and an aging housing stock that's not turning over to younger families -- also play a part. "There are probably only 20 to 25 districts [out of 346] that are growing," said Scott Croonquist, executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts. "Most of those are seeing moderate growth. There are some districts, like Elk River, that are growing unbelievably fast. Otherwise, the trend is decline."

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