A review of certified enrollments in school districts in south central Iowa reveals mixed results.
Data from the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) shows enrollments remained flat or fell in many districts while enrollment increases appeared in a handful of districts.
The certified enrollment for the Mount Ayr Community Schools dropped from 607.0 students in the 2019-2020 school year to 576.4 in the current 2020-2021 school year.
(Fractional numbers result from various weighting formulas used by the DOE to determine state aid to schools.)
Diagonal’s certified enrollment remained steady at 102 students, the smallest public school enrollment in the state.
At approximately $7,000 per student in state aid, any decrease in enrollment negatively impacts school district budgets.
The largest percentage decrease came at Wayne (-7 percent), Mount Ayr (-5 percent) and I-35 and Murray (-4 percent each).
The largest percentage increases were found in Central Decatur (+3.5 percent) and Lenox (+2.7 percent).
An article next week will show the effect open enrollments in and out of districts have on enrollment figures.
