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Enrollment Drop Could Financially Hinder Springfield Public Schools

Springfield, Massachusetts, schools Superintendent Dan Warwick.
Don Treeger
/
The Republican / masslive.com
Springfield, Massachusetts, Schools Superintendent Dan Warwick.

Springfield's public schools have seen a dip in enrollment following a trend across Massachusetts during the pandemic. And the city's schools superintendent warned this could affect funding for the district.

Dan Warwick said Springfield's public school enrollment has dropped by more than 600 students, largely in kindergarten and pre-K.

Most state funding is determined by how many students a district has. Warwick said the decline could have serious consequences.

"For Springfield, it would be over a $10 million cut in funding, if you look at the dollars per student," Warwick said during the city's weekly COVID-19 briefing at City Hall on Monday.

Warwick said he expects the drop to be temporary. He also said he believes many parents of young children are waiting until next year to start their education because of the pandemic. 

"Likely, all those kids will be back in next year, at the beginning of the year," he said. "We'll need to service them, but we won't have the funding to do it, so it's a serious issue."

Normally, enrollment on October 1 is the determining factor for funding.

Warwick said he's hoping that date changes, since Springfield has had new students sign up since then. He said the state's schools superintendent association has been pushing state officials either to move the date back or use enrollment figures from last year. 

Public school enrollment in Massachusetts tumbled by 4% from October 2019 to October 2020. It's a decline that far exceeds the usual annual churn, according to figures presented to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education last week.

Russell Johnston of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education told the board that as of October 1, there were 911,432 students enrolled across the state's 400 school districts, a decline of more than 37,000 from the previous year. In each of the previous two years, enrollment decreased by fewer than 3,000 students.

Almost half of this year's decline can be attributed to pre-K and kindergarten students, Johnston said. While the number of students leaving for out-of-state public or private schools remained relatively stable compared to previous years, more students this year left for in-state private schools or homeschooling, he said.

This report includes information from State House News Service. 

Adam joined NEPM as a freelance reporter and fill-in operations assistant during the summer of 2011. For more than 15 years, Adam has had a number stops throughout his broadcast career, including as a news reporter and anchor, sports host and play-by-play announcer as well as a producer and technician.
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