As enrollment declines, District 304 eyes new demographic study

Geneva Unit District 304 is facing a slow, steady reduction in its enrollment, prompting his recommendation for a formal demographic study, Superintendent Andrew Barrett said during a presentation this week.

Barrett said Geneva's declining enrollment mirrors a trend in schools nationwide. He also said the last demographic study District 304 did was in 2006. A new study would help the district with its strategic planning process.

"We've been talking about this a little bit over the last several meetings, and so I just thought it would be important to share a little bit of a deeper dive into some of this," Barrett said. "And share this context with the board - and then actually the community - and talk about some of the steps we think we want to take here."

Board President Larry Cabeen said any decision about closing elementary schools at this point would be premature.

"Long-term, we'll have to analyze it," Cabeen said. "The demographic study will point out if that's a possibility."

Using the district's analytical tools, Barrett presented various charts and graphs to illustrate the reduction in student enrollment.

The district had 2,007 students in 1984, which increased to an enrollment of 5,723 in 2004, and now is down to 5,048, according to his presentation and the school report cards.

The slow but steady declining enrollment is attributed to several factors, including that millennials - those born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s - are having fewer children and older people are aging in place, Barrett said.

Ten years ago, elementary enrollment was 2,400. Now it's 2,100, he said.

Enrollment is spread across six schools based on a neighborhood model, with some schools bigger than others.

The middle schools went from 1,400 to 1,200, and the high school from over 2,000 down to 1,600 in the same period, Barrett said.

Another part of the data so far is that students who start in the district tend to stay, he said.

With fewer students, there are smaller classes and fewer sections of classes. But while core class sections have declined at the high school, it offers more courses and electives than ever before, he said.

And students have increased needs and support, as there are more students enrolled in special education and more students who seek psychological support, he said.

"We are going to continue looking at this just like we are," Barrett said. "We are going to continue the practice of making adjustments as appropriate."

Administrators will also continue real-time evaluation of enrollment trends and implications, he said.

The first step in seeking a demographer would be to check with neighboring school districts to see if they are already looking into this issue.

Board member Paul Radlinski said the district has to look at the issues connected with declining enrollment - especially in light of its $56 million seven-year capital spending plan to address its aging facilities.

"We need to take a look at this," Radlinski said. "The buildings are getting older. We're having to make significant investments in them. We have the largest capital spending program we've had in years. ... I don't know what the answer is at this point. We need data in order to do that."