Pioneer Press Tue, 06 May 2008 22:50:49 -0600
Declining enrollment in St. Paul public schools is called 'structural'
The loss of students that is fueling a $10 million budget shortfall in St. Paul Public Schools is not a blip on the radar, chief business officer Lois Rockney told school board members Tuesday. "This is a structural change in our enrollment," she said. "It's big." The district is projecting a loss of more than 1,000 students in grades K-12 for 2008-09. The decline is concentrated among high school students รข€" who carry greater weight under the state funding formula. It is projected to continue for at least the next four years. At the end of those four years, the district is expected to be down another 2,000 pupils and is projected to plateau with enrollment of approximately 36,000. The enrollment decline is responsible for $7 million of the $10 million shortfall. The other $3 million comes from state aid not keeping up with inflation.
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