Overall enrollment down for HRCSD

“We’ve seen a steady decline,” he said.

High school enrollment has stayed somewhat steady over the past 10 years, which Hedberg attributed to students coming to Hood River Valley High from private schools because of its programming and opportunities.

Likewise, kindergarten is up this year with 230 students to last year’s 208, but “we are able to see some forecasting based on some PSU [Portland State University] data for birth rates, and it’s not looking like we’re jumping back up or anything — it’s a similar trend between 210-230 for the next few years,” he said.

The overall decline in numbers is important because the state’s school funding is tied “completely to our school enrollment,” Hedberg said. “That’s a significant portion of our funding.”

State School Fund dollars received by the district are dependent on the number of enrolled students. With approximately 85% of the district’s budget being personnel, that funding also drives staffing levels.

The district aims for fewer students per teacher in grades K-5 (20 for kindergarten; 24 for 5th grade) than at the high school level (averaging 30).

Cascade Locks Elementary is the exception, he said — there, class sizes are even lower. “That’s a school where we have to recognize that we make some exceptions based on the setting and what it takes to run a small school. Otherwise, we don’t have any [classes] over that threshold; we’ve been really careful and thoughtful about, when we do get over that threshold, we make a change,” Hedberg said.

Of note, budget planning and state funding are based on enrollment projections on a two-year cycle, the current biennium ending this school year.

“Next year is a big unknown at this point in terms of funding,” Hedberg told the board. “We’ll get our forecast this winter and spring for the following two years’ budget.”