HOOD RIVER — The Hood River County School District board of directors unanimously passed a motion to appoint two community members to open positions on the district’s financial advisory committee (FAC) during its Oct. 25 meeting.
Michael McElwee and Rich Truax will each serve four-year terms. McElwee is the executive director of Hood River County Education Foundation, and Truax, a former board member, an engineer and business owner.
The board also heard an update on K-12 enrollment from Human Resources Director Gus Hedberg. Total enrollment is down 224 students this year, compared to pre-pandemic numbers four years ago.
Hedberg noted those numbers are important because state school funding is enrollment dependent. Going back a decade, in 2013-2014 the district had 4,023 total students; as of the week of Oct. 25, enrollment this fall is 3,790.
Superintendent Bill Newton also touched on declining enrollment at the Sept. 25 board meeting, saying reasons include the high cost of living in the Gorge and lack of affordable housing for families. But it’s not just a local issue.
“In addition, according to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, Oregon’s population 0-4 years old has already declined by 10%,” said Newton Sept. 25. “Furthermore, the kindergarten through 12th grade (5-17 years old) population is expected to decline 10%. The Oregon fertility rate is ranked fifth lowest nationally.
“These facts are important to consider when reviewing enrollment trends and identifying opportunities and threats in the future,” he said.
During the Oct. 25 meeting, Hedberg said there are 208 kindergartners enrolled this year, down from 284 a decade ago. “We saw kindergarten [numbers] drop recently; we’re not going to see that at the high school for some time,” Hedberg said, adding that high school enrollment has remained steady. “Perhaps it will correct itself before our kindergartners now are in high school.”
Not every building has seen a decline, however. Cascade Locks has seen an increase of four students and May Street three students, compared to three years ago. Mid Valley has seen a loss of 23 students, and Parkdale and Westside are both down 13 during that same time period. Hood River Options Academy (HROA) is down 49 elementary students, a reflection of the gradual decline since the pandemic, Hedberg said.
Over those same three years, Hood River Middle is down 24 students and HROA 28, but Wy’east is up 59 and Hood River Valley High 19.
Board Member Jen Kelly (member at large) asked if HROA enrollment is down because of classroom caps.
“We have a couple of different paths in order to get into HROA,” Newton said. The first is initiated by families and the second “is what we consider an alternative education program, especially for high school students who are struggling at HRVHS and are in need of a different look. HROA provides that opportunity for them.”
In a followup email, Newton said HROA enrollment is at capacity this term for middle and high school students, according to student-teacher ratio guidelines.
“It is important to maintain that ratio so students are able to benefit from more individual teacher attention, supporting student academic achievement,” he said.
Hedberg also shared K-3 class size trends. During the 2017-2018 school year, K-3 classroom sizes averaged 23.3 students; it dipped to 17.6 in 2020-2021 — a pandemic year — and is now at about 19 per class.
Board Member Julia Garcia-Ramirez (position 4) asked how many instructional assistants are in each classroom. “I was mainly thinking about kindergarten classrooms; we’re seeing more and more students coming in with behavioral concerns or disabilities,” she said. “How do you forecast the need for those instructional assistants or extra services kids might come in with?”
Hedberg said schools with a higher number of students needing services will likely have a higher number of instructional assistants.
“It’s a process that’s become more comprehensive,” he said. “Last year, we did a lot of work with our preschool groups and early intervention, and we had a team of staff who worked with those early intervention teachers to just get to know the needs of those students and do our best to predict what those were.”
In other district news, interviews for the vacant chief financial officer position were expected to begin Oct. 30. Newton said that retired CFO Nancy Hall is filling the position in the interim. Hall has experience in several Oregon districts, he said, and has supported the district in the past through audits and filling in at the business department.
The next HRCSD board meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Nathaniel Coe Administration Center.
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