SVVSD enrollment rebounds after pandemic declines
Dec. 9—St. Vrain Valley saw its enrollment bounce back more quickly than expected after last school year's pandemic losses, based on a report presented at Wednesday's school board meeting.
The district saw its preschool though 12th grade enrollment drop by 1,106 students last school year, for a total enrollment of 30,630 students. Before the pandemic hit, the district was expecting enrollment to grow.
This year, enrollment rebounded with an 886 student increase, for a total of 31,516 students — though still about 220 students short of the pre-pandemic enrollment numbers in fall 2019.
"The big surprise was how big the gain was this year," said Planning Director Scott Toillion, who noted many districts in the state are continuing to see enrollment drops.
Of its 886 student increase, the district counted 350 more students enrolled at neighborhood schools, about 502 more students enrolled in alternative schools — including LaunchEd Virtual Academy — and 34 more in charter schools.
After low numbers last school year, kindergarten and first grade enrollment have largely recovered, according to district officials. Kindergarten enrollment rose from 1,963 students in 2020 to 2,246 students in 2021.
Neighborhood elementary and high schools both saw about a 2% growth rate, while enrollment at neighborhood middle schools dropped about 1.5%.
About 184 more students also open enrolled from outside the district compared to the prior year. Most of the students who open enroll come from the Boulder Valley, Weld and Thompson school districts. Homeschool numbers dropped from 618 in 2020 to 365 this fall, returning to close to the district's pre-pandemic homeschool numbers.
The Longmont schools saw enrollment declines from last school year to this year, while the Erie, Frederick and Mead schools saw increases. In planning for future school sites, the Erie, Frederick and Mead communities also have a high potential for continued growth, based on building permits.
The state uses enrollment numbers to allocate most of a school district's funding. But because St. Vrain wasn't penalized for its full loss last school year, it also won't receive the full amount for this year's enrollment increase.
Instead, the district will receive per-pupil funding based on a revised increase about 332 students, which adds up to about $2.9 million in state funding, Executive Director of Budget and Finance Tony Whiteley said.
The district will, however, see a bigger boost to its budget, which was built conservatively based on a slight decrease in per-pupil funding. When compared to the originally approved budget numbers, the district will add about $4.3 million in per-pupil funding, he said.
