CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Chandler Unified School District's latest enrollment figures show that the large East Valley district has recently lost more students than it had anticipated.
CUSD officials were projecting to lose about 200 pupils this school year, which would continue a downward trend in enrollment that Chandler Unified has experienced over the last few years.
But Chief Financial Officer Lana Berry recently told the district's board members that their average daily membership has dropped by 831 compared to last year. Arizona allocates school funding based on the ADM figures reported by districts.
That amount of an enrollment loss is worth a funding decrease of about $3.7 million, according to CUSD records.
Low birth rates, expensive real estate in Chandler, and competition with Arizona's school voucher program were all reasons cited by Berry for why the district's student population continues to shrink.
Researchers like Dr. Sofoklis Goulas of the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project said that enrollment declines on a national level go far beyond than just lower birth rates.
"We see that the share of gains in public schools has declined from 84.2% in 2015-16, to 78.8% in 2021-22," Goulas said. "So we have an increase in the share of kids who are either in private schools or in common education or in other school arrangements."
The monetary aid allocated during the COVID-19 pandemic has helped some school districts stave off the financial ramifications of having fewer students. But the reality of the situation may soon start to confront the country's education officials.
Enrollment issues have been reported by other school districts throughout the Valley. Mesa Public Schools recently reported seeing an enrollment drop that was nearly twice the size the district had expected.
The Paradise Valley Unified School District has proposed closing multiple campuses due to a downturn in enrollment.
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