Monday, April 13, 2009
Down Economy Drives Down Student Enrollment
State forecasters said Monday that 10,000 fewer public school students are expected to enter classrooms this fall , the fourth straight year of declining enrollment in what remains the nation's fourth largest school system.
The economy has plenty to do with the downward trend. Migration from other states has cooled as Florida’s unemployment rate climbs to levels above the national average, a glut of unsold homes slows the construction industry, and the state hovers near the top nationwide in home foreclosures.
While 2.6 million students still are expected to fill Florida classrooms, the past three years marked the first since the 1981-82 school year that schools statewide have experienced declining enrollment. It’s a sharp contrast from the late 1980s and 1990s, when an average of 50,000 additional students were added annually to the statewide rolls.
With Florida’s slowing population, public school budgets also have been cut the past two years, following a long period of robust increases that peaked when hurricane rebuilding and soaring housing prices combined to fuel $1 billion school funding increases for several years in the mid-2000’s.
About $3 billion in federal economic stimulus money will stave-off more school cuts in the 2009-10 year. But many counties already have been forced to reduce spending by laying-off teachers and other staff, eliminating programs and changing transportation schedules.
The 10,000-student decline settled on Monday by the state's Enrollment Estimating Conference represents fewer students than was forecast as recently as February, when a drop of almost 6,000 students was anticipated. The difference, however, is accounted for largely by an updated enrollment figure for the end of the 2008-09 school year.
Posted by John Kennedy of the Florida Chamber Foundation at 1:33 PM