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Enrollment drops again in Solon schools
(by Sue Hoffman - October 21, 2009)
Enrollment drops again in Solon schools
By SUE HOFFMAN
The Solon School District's decision to install small additions to schools in recent years, rather than construct a new building, has withstood the test of time, according to school officials.
Enrollment has declined for four consecutive years since 2006. The latest official count, taken this month, showed 5,214 students in the district, compared with 5,288 in 2008, 5,329 in 2007, and 5,366 in 2006. In 2005, enrollment was 5,314, which was less than 2006.
In total, enrollment has dropped by 152 students since 2006. The decline followed a decade of high growth during the 1990s.
The decrease is even more significant when compared with what enrollment would have been had the district continued to increase by about 100 students each year, School Superintendent Joseph V. Regano said last week.
While a decline has started, Mr. Regano said, "The bottom will never drop out." On average nationally, 25 percent of homes have children attending school, he said. "In Solon, we're at 35 percent and that's going to continue."
Mr. Regano said he's also seen a reduction in the number of new students from families renting properties in Solon. A few years ago, "we literally had people stacked in the lobby a week or two before school started. The last two years, we've had none of that." He said reductions in mortgage fraud and better home sales helped alleviate that issue.
The slight decline in enrollment "favors the budget and is a good thing for the taxpayer," he said, since it costs the district money to educate a growing population of students. The district currently spends an average of $12,670 per pupil, which is much more than most individual homeowners pay in taxes, he said.
Lower enrollment and budget reductions helped extend the last operating levy, which was in May, 2005, five years, Mr. Regano said. Another levy is planned in 2010.
With fewer students this fall, the district was able to reduce its budget by over $1.52 million, Mr. Regano said. This is the third consecutive year that the district has instituted budget reductions, he said, "to address a shrinking need in the district." This year's cuts included staff reductions, through attrition, as well as delays in capital improvements. Over the last five years, the district has been able to institute some $4 million in budget reductions, he said.
October's official count included 1,841 students at the high school, an increase of 18 from 2008; 776 at Solon Middle School, a decrease of 63; 821 at Orchard Middle School, an increase of seven; 400 at Lewis School, a decrease of 10; 410 at Roxbury School, a decrease of three; 429 at Parkside School, an increase of three; and 537 at Arthur Road School, a decrease of 26.
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