School enrollment has dropped as a result of the pandemic, potentially costing local districts money. The enrollment drop echoes statewide and national trends, as many families opted for virtual schools, or homeschooling, during COVID 19 school closures and didn’t enroll at their local schools last Fall.
The largest declines are in kindergarten, which fell by 8.6% statewide. Kansas children are not required to attend preschool or kindergarten, although the vast majority of families send their children to kindergarten when they become eligible at five years old.
Some families may have transferred to districts or private schools that opened classrooms when others closed. Education Funding is based largely on enrollment, but districts have some leeway to account for abnormal years.
