ENROLLMENT TRENDS 2010

The District continues to be concerned with the low number of students entering kindergarten. Considering the District graduated approximately 220 students in May of 2010 and enrolled approximately 144 kindergarten students in September of 2010, it is no surprise the overall enrollment numbers continue to decline. Also of note is the fact almost every class (when counting students as they move from one grade level to the next) has increased since September 2009 with grade 4 to grade 5 being the exception showing a loss of 2 students . The District experienced a gain of 47 students when looking at K-12 migratory change only. This helps offset the loss of 76 students planned for this year due to the graduating seniors minus kindergarten enrollment difference. Therefore, the net change in K-12 enrollment for the School District of Waupaca is a loss of 29 students. These numbers do not take into account the Title I Preschool through Special Education 5 year old program because those numbers tend to fluctuate throughout the year.

This loss of students will continue to reduce State Aid eligibility and limit Revenue Cap capacity. The District is more concerned about State Aide dollars than Revenue Cap capacity at this time because the loss of State Aid will need to be replaced by local property tax dollars to a certain degree. The District has not taxed to the Revenue Cap limit recently and does not plan on doing so this year either as that would place an even greater burden on the local taxpayers.

The District has been planning for a decrease in students for several years through a series of cost-cutting measures including the reduction of personnel costs through attrition and layoff. That will be a continuing practice until the kindergarten and Grade 12 enrollment numbers stabilize.