The Plymouth School Corporation is reporting another reduction in its total student enrollment this year, meaning less money from the state.
Indiana’s funding formula attaches about $6,000 per student, meaning that if the school district loses students, it sees reduced funding levels in its General Fund multiplied by the number of students no long attending.
Superintendent Dan Tyree informed the school board last week that no Reduction in Force moves have been made as a result but it is certainly not making it easy to operate. He says it’s essential to identify the issue and attack the problem.
In May of 2016, Plymouth schools saw 302 seniors enrolled on count day. This year, the incoming Kindergarten class is reporting 251 students. That accounts for a big majority of the drop. The remainder is students that have left the school corporation due to economics or that have gone to another school corporation.
Tyree attributed some of the shift to the causes of the recession: either people moving out of Marshall County or a reduced birth rate. Superintendents at neighboring school corporations have reported similar trends.
In the future, Plymouth schools may look to advertise itself as a quality place to attend kindergarten to combat some of the decline. For now, the school board is working under the assumption that they will be losing students for at least the next 10 years.
Transfers to the school corporation are up this year from other school districts.
