Early enrollment estimate shows increase for Lawrence school district; official count comes next month

photo by: Journal-World

Lawrence Public Schools district offices pictured in April 2021.

The Lawrence school district appears to be set for an increase in enrollment after a year in which it was significantly affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

According to an early and unofficial estimate of the enrollment provided to the Journal-World, Lawrence elementary schools saw an increase of almost 200 students this year compared with 2020-21. That would show the district gaining some enrollment back after losing more than 300 students districtwide last school year.

Elementary enrollment

• 2021-22 (estimate): 4,511

• 2020-21: 4,316

• 2019-2020: 4,680

The district did not yet have any early enrollment estimate on middle or high schools or its virtual school as of Thursday.

However, the official count of student enrollment won’t occur until Sept. 20, and the numbers could still change before then. The count on that date is important to the district, as the enrollment numbers will dictate certain state funding that it will receive in the future.

With that in mind, the district isn’t ready to celebrate just yet. District spokeswoman Julie Boyle said the district has no comment on the early estimate, noting that the enrollment numbers often change before the official count in September.

Last year, the district saw an overall enrollment decrease of 325 students, the Journal-World previously reported. A total of 589 had left the district’s brick and mortar schools, but 264 more had enrolled in the district’s virtual school.

The drop was a blow to the district, which expected to see an increase in enrollment prior to the emergence of the pandemic, according to the district’s enrollment consultants.

The enrollment drop led to a difficult situation in the district’s budget, as it dealt with a funding shortfall during the school year. Additionally, the district expects to see a $1.5 million decrease in spending ability in its general fund this year, the Journal-World reported.

“COVID, unfortunately, has put the district in reactive mode recently — and actually survival mode to some degree, ” district finance director Kathy Johnson told the school board earlier this month. “We had to live within that new world,” she added.

If the enrollment numbers remain intact, the district may recoup some of those funds. But it may not reach the total enrollment it had in 2019, when the district had 4,680 elementary students, about 170 more than the early estimate this year, according to an enrollment report provided to the school board at the time.

But Johnson told the board that even just a part of the enrollment return would be welcomed.

“The hope is that on (Sept. 20) we see an uptick, at least a partial uptick, so we start getting back on a different track,” Johnson said.

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