To the editor:

There is a strange problem with Lawrence schools: As enrollments fall, taxes rise.

Since 1996, total elementary school enrollments have fallen every year. In 1996, there was a total of 5,591 students attending Lawrence elementary schools. In 2004, there were 4,873, a drop of 718 students, or approximately 13 percent.

The decline in junior highs and senior highs started later, but is now noticeable as well. Junior high enrollment peaked in 2000 at 2,448. In 2004, enrollment was 2,423, a loss of 25 students. Senior high school enrollment peaked in 2002 at 2,506 students. Last year this dropped to 2,483, a loss of 23 students.

The school administration figures disguise this decline by adding in virtual students as if they were real children residing in Lawrence. In one sense this attempt is useful, since the state pays Lawrence for virtual students. But it is disingenuous to argue that children who live in other cities are the same as Lawrence students.

The real truth is that as students disappear from our schools, school budgets rise. Already, the public school budget nearly equals that of the city as a whole ($100 million for the school system vs. $110 million for the city). The population of the city is 80,000; the population of our schools is less than 10,000.

Yet, in the face of declining enrollments, the schools now plan to ask for “maximum budget” increase.

Perhaps it is time not only to ask “where have our children gone?” but “where is our money going?”

Arly Allen,

Lawrence