For the fourth year in a row, student enrollment in the Gillett School District declined, according to the official September student count. Gillett’s student population is 577, 14 students fewer than last year, 29 less than 2013, and 57 less than 2012.
“There are larger graduating classes than what is coming up in 4K,” said District Administrator Todd Carlson at Thursday’s School Board meeting. Twenty-nine students are enrolled in 4-year-old kindergarten, compared with 45 seniors.
“We still need the lights on and the teachers there. It’s hard when the budget and state aid is based on the numbers but we have to make ends meet,” Carlson said.
Open enrollment has played a part in declining enrollment. For the current school year, 70 students opted out of the district and 24 opted in. New requests for the 2015-16 school year showed a positive trend, with 13 student leaving the district and 26 attending Gillett, including three new 4K students.
Categories
