“We have experienced a particularly acute decline in the past year due to very few new- to-country students entering our system, a stark reversal in the past few years,” says Huber. The Colorado Department of Education’s enrollment count also showed the students reported as homeschooled full-time increased by 5.5 percent and students registered in online education programs and online schools increased by 2.9 percent. WHAT DOES LOWER ENROLLMENT MEAN? The biggest concern with this shift in enrollment numbers is funding for schools. DPS receives funding per student from the state, so their budget is tied to the number of students. When fewer students are enrolled, the budget shrinks. Huber says this means that, to continue offering the robust experience at school that families expect and students deserve, DPS needs to make hard choices in the form of budget cuts and school closures. “It is important to acknowledge the pain that is experienced when our system gets smaller,” explains Huber. “School closures
are heartbreaking for everyone involved, most acutely the students, educators, and families experiencing loss. Real human beings lose their jobs in budget cuts and we have to make hard decisions about which services to continue providing.” As for parents, much information is online in an effort to be transparent in enrollment data and analytics. Huber says DPS publishes much of their data on their enrollment website and releases an annual report, the Strategic Regional Analysis, that forecasts and deeply analyzes the consequences of declining enrollment. LOOKING AT FUTURE ENROLLMENT According to the DPS Strategic Regional Analysis, their five year forecast predicts that DPS will enroll seven percent fewer students by 2030, mainly as a result of lower birth rates. Because of this trend, DPS is facing a $28 million structural deficit over the next five years, according to a CBS News article. While this might include closing down more schools, the biggest takeaway is that DPS is working to give families options for what’s next. For DPS, fewer students means making difficult decisions about how to use
its buildings, staff, and resources in the years ahead. Huber says one misconception families might have about the declining enrollment is that this is happening because of school choice. While it is true that families are more likely than ever to make choices about where they send their students to school, most of the school choice is internal in terms of DPS and much of Colorado public education. Because Colorado is an open enrollment state, families are given a wealth of public school options to choose from, both district- managed and charter schools. Huber says in DPS, 42 percent of families chose a different school in DPS for their student than their assigned school. “We run great schools where students are safe, challenged, and ultimately successful,” emphasizes Huber. “We have amazing teachers and leaders who are tirelessly dedicated to doing right for kids. These things speak to families no matter their background or perspective. I am fully confident that DPS will continue to offer many amazing options for families regardless of how many children live in Denver and the metro area.”
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