Boulder Valley enrollment dropped by about 2% this school year, with the school district seeing its largest decrease in high school enrollment in more than 20 years.
In the fall, according to a report on the agenda for Tuesday’s school board meeting, the district enrolled 565 fewer students for a total of 27,522 K-12 students.
The school board hadn’t heard the report by the Daily Camera’s print deadline, but district officials in the report cited lingering COVID-19 impacts and uncertainty as the reasons for a larger-than-expected decline — though the district did project enrollment to continue to shrink.
Last school year, K-12 enrollment dipped about 1%, with 280 fewer students, despite a small boost at the elementary level that followed a large, pandemic-based decline in 2020. In 2020, the district’s enrollment dropped by about 1,600 students, or 5%.
While all levels saw declines this fall, the district’s enrollment losses continued to be concentrated in kindergarten and first grade. Kindergarten enrollment was down about 4%, with 1,658 students in the current class. Overall, elementary enrollment, not including charter schools, declined by 245 students, or about 2.3%.
Middle schools, not including charters, reported 195 fewer students, or about 3.5%.
High schools, not including charters, saw a second consecutive year of fewer students, and the most significant enrollment loss in more than 20 years. High school enrollment dropped by about 157 students, or about 1.7%. The declines are expected to continue as larger graduating classes are replaced by smaller incoming middle school classes.
Enrollment in the district’s five charter schools stayed about the same as the previous school year. The number of out-of-district students who enroll also is stable, with 2,370 students from outside the district enrolling this fall.
Looking at individual communities, Boulder, Louisville and Superior schools largely drove the declines, but the typical offset from new housing growth in Lafayette and Erie also wasn’t seen in 2022, according to the report.
With enrollment expected to continue to shrink in future years, a new Long Range Advisory Committee started this school year is reviewing enrollment trends, program offerings and building capacity. The committee is expected to make recommendations to the school board in spring.
