Public school student count to decline

St. Landry Parish public school enrollment is projected to decrease by 901 students from the 2016 count.
A 10-year projection is that the number of students will drop from 2013’s 14,808 to 12,959 in 2023.
The enrollment projections were presented Tuesday to a meeting of the St. Landry Parish School Board’s Building, Lands and Sites Committee by demographer Mike Hefner.
Hefner, of Geographic Planning and Demographic Services, has been hired by the Board to come up with student enrollment projections in anticipation of a tax election in the spring of 2018 to fund facility improvements and pay raises.
‘These do not take into account any external factors,” Hefner said.
Those factors would include population trends, economic development activities, housing and transportation.
The overall trend in the projects is the school district will experience an enrollment decline.
Hefner said there are some increases in the current year enrollment.
Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said current enrollment is 13,859, which is 300 more students than had been projected.
The enrollment projections “are really just mathematical projections based off trends from your last years of actual enrollment at each school,” Hefner said.
The report delivered this week is to be followed by a more comprehensive report at the end of the month, he said.
“Really no big surprise on some things,” he said.
The south end of the parish is growing, the north is not, Eunice is relatively stable and Opelousas enrollment is mixed, he said.
“This is going to to help your facility planning company, firm, to at least get an idea of what those trends are looking like right now,” he said.
Hefner said he will determine where students live in St. Landry Parish to help with school zones and possible construction and consolidation possibilities.
He also will map other students such as those home-schooled, which totaled 667 last year.
“Overall, though, you are not going to have a huge, in the aggregate, a huge swing in your enrollment,” he said.
Jenkins said he is studying consolidating elementary schools in Opelousas.
Hefner added that Eunice elementary students may benefit by replacing older schools with newer buildings.
Newer schools are more efficient to run, he said.
“I think the public is going to get a lot out of it. They are going to understand the dynamics of your student population by the time we are finished with all of this,” Hefner said.
The 2013 and 2016 student counts; and 2023 projections are:
Arnaudville Elementary: 222 in 2013; 235 in 2016; and 171 in 2023.
Beau Chene High School: 857 in 2013; 899 in 2016; and 978 in 2023.
Cankton Elementary: 574 in 2013; 587 in 2016; and 587 in 2023.
Central Middle School: 365 in 2013; 358 in 2016; and 343 in 2023.
East Elementary: 310 in 2013; 289 in 2016; 228 in 2023.
Eunice Elementary: 284 in 2013; 288 in 2016; and 371 in 2023.
Eunice High School: 659 in 2013; 641 in 2016; and 566 in 2023.
Eunice Junior High School: 398 in 2013; 368 in 2016; and 330 in 2023.
Glendale Elementary: 335 in 2013; 333 in 2016; and 295 in 2023.
Grand Coteau Elementary: 342 in 2013; 305 in 2016; and 223 in 2023.
Grand Prairie Elementary: 365 in 2013; 320 in 2016; and 203 in 2023.
Grolee Elementary: 515 in 2013; 403 in 2016; and 236 in 2023.
Highland Elementary: 239 in 2013; 182 in 2016; and 113 in 2023.
Krotz Springs Elementary: 338 in 2013; 299 in 2016; and 184 in 2023.
Lawtell Elementary: 793 in 2013; 806 in 2016; and 931 in 2023.
Leonville Elementary: 713 in 2013; 555 in 2016; and 440 in 2023.
North Central High School: 349 in 2013; 273 in 2016; and 295 in 2023.
North Elementary: 305 in 2013; 273 in 2016; and 255 in 2023.
Northeast Elementary: 527 in 2013; 437 in 2016; and 299 in 2023.
Northwest High School: 590 in 2013; 568 in 2016; and 528 in 2023.
Opelousas Junior High School: 418 in 2013; 420 in 2016; and 334 in 2023.
Opelousas Senior High School: 867 in 2013; 738 in 2016; and 807 in 2023.
Palmetto Elementary: 258 in 2013; 247 in 2016; and 369 in 2023.
Park Vista Elementary: 907 in 2013; 875 in 2016; and 877 in 2023.
Plaisance Elementary: 275 in 2013; 201 in 2016 and 137 in 2023.
Port Barre Elementary: 560 in 2013; 525 in 2016; and 353 in 2023.
Port Barre High School: 450 in 2013; 417 in 2016; and 375 in 2023.
Port Barre Middle School: 447 in 2013; 391 in 2016; and 304 in 2023.
South Street Elementary: 350 in 2013; 372 in 2016; and 428 in 2023.
Southwest Elementary: 386 in 2013; 370 in 2016; and 304 in 2023.
Sunset Elementary: 381 in 2013; 376 in 2016; and 368 in 2023.
Washington Elementary: 173 in 2013; 154 in 2016; and 113 in 2023.
Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts: 256 in 2013; 321 in 2016; and 343 in 2023.
Total enrollment in 2013 was 14,808. In 2016, total enrollment was 13,860. Projected total enrollment in 2023 is 12,959.