District grapples with declining enrollment

HOOD RIVER —  District enrollment has continued to reflect broader statewide demographic shifts and lower birth rates, Executive Director of Human Resources Gus Hedberg reported at Hood River County School District’s (HRCSD) Oct. 28 board meeting.

It’s a common theme both statewide and nationally, and to great financial impact. For HRCSD, Hedberg said, the district has lost 421 students — or 30 each year — from  2013-2026. Because Oregon funds education based on enrollment, that’s the equivalent to a $4,841,500 funding loss over the last 13 years.

Long-range forecasts follow a similar trajectory. The district can expect to lose 430 students — or 54 each year — between now and the 2034-2035 school year, a funding loss equivalent of almost $5 million, based on analysis from Flo Analytics.

“Kindergarten is where we’re seeing the most change,” Hedberg said. Thirteen years ago, there were 284 enrolled kindergarteners district-wide; this year, there are 216, with numbers below 200 expected in the next eight years.

Compare that to high school enrollment: During the 2013-2014 school year, 1,271 students were at Hood River Valley High School (HRVHS). That number ticked up into the 1,350s between 2014-2018 before dropping again in 2018-2019 — to 1,214 students.

But even during the pandemic, HRCSD has seen enrollment numbers hold steady until this school year. There are currently 1,263 students enrolled at HRVHS, with an expected enrollment of about 1,149 in the next eight years — a loss of 114 students.

“This would represent a reduction of five licensed full-time educators based on current student and staffing ratios,” Hedberg said.

Hood River Options Academy (HROA), the district’s online learning program with on-site opportunities and activities, has also seen a decline. In the 2020-2021 school year, 841 were enrolled. That dropped to 283 students for 2021-2022, and sits at 162 this school year.

So where are these students going? District officials emphasized that the primary driver is declining birth rates, resulting in smaller generations entering school overall. Other factors play a secondary role, such as attending out-of-district virtual schools.

“It’s that online school that is really the biggest competition for public school kids in a lot of ways,” said Director Chrissy Reitz. “It’s not necessarily going to a private school in your area — it’s the sort of freedom of the online school that I think is appealing to people.”

HRCSD has been upfront that future enrollment will dictate how the district proceeds, with its Long Range Facility Planning Committee exploring options for closing, combining, and/or remodeling its current buildings.

“It is really something we’re going to have to grapple with,” Reitz said. “We all love neighborhood schools, [but keeping them open is] not necessarily a reality, and it might not be as much of a reality going forward.”