St. Landry Parish public school enrollment declining

Image
Body

By Harlan Kirgan
Editor
Enrollment in St. Landry Parish public schools has declined 11 percent since 2008 and probably cost the school district about $13.5 million in revenue.
In October, the school district’s student count was 13,481, down from 15,185 in October 2008 — a loss of 1,704 students.
During the same period, neighboring Acadia Parish’s public school enrollment was 9,845 in the October count, up 367 students or 3.9 percent from the October 2008 head count of 9,478.
In Evangeline Parish, there were 5,872 students counted in October, down 156 students — 2.6 percent — from the 6,028 students in October 2008.
The largest school district in the area, Lafayette Parish, had an enrollment of 31,356 in October, up from 29,880 students in October 2008 — a 5 percent increase.
The numbers are meaningful to the school districts because they determine the amount of money received from the state’s Minimum Foundation Program.
For St. Landry Parish, the school district MFP money varies from $6,000 to $8,000 per student, Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said in December.
One factor in the declining student count is out-migration to areas where there are jobs, Jenkins said.
The school district has lost about 425 students to charter schools, he said. About 600 students are home-schooled, he said.
Parochial and private schools also have their share of students, he noted.
Parents have more options than ever before in where to send their children to school, he said.
That means the public schools must adapt and change, he said.
“Either you change and compete or you become Sears or Toys R Us,” he said.
St. Landry Parish public school district has about 60 students enrolled in online courses this year, he said. The district is looking to increase its online enrollment in the future.
Donnie Perron, a Port Barre School Board member and retired educator in the parish, said public school enrollment in St. Landry Parish has been eroded by home schooling, charter schools and other ways of education.
“I think that is the main reason and what the people want is options for their kids so they can get a better education,” he said.
Albert Hayes Jr., a Eunice School Board, member, said families are getting smaller as one reason for the enrollment decline.
But he cautioned parents who study public school scores and think a school is failing should realize the private or parochial schools are not being tested in the same way as public schools.
“Tests don’t tell the whole story about a school, but it is the way we measure them now days,” he said.
Hayes, a retired public school educator, said the public schools are able to attract the best teachers because of pay.
“We are able to incentivize through salary the best selection of teachers,” he said.
Private and parochial schools do not have the resources that public schools bring to the table, he said.
Jenkins said another source of enrollment loss is truancy. In the past two years the St. Landry Parish School district has lost up to 400 students due to truancy.
Truancy is primarily a problem in the Opelousas area, he said.
Truancy is less of an issue in Eunice where the schools, police and city court work together to keep students in the classrooms, he said.
The school funding loss impacts the school district’s budget. This year the school district is projecting its general fund will end the year with a $2 million deficit.
In March 2018, voters indicated they are not in a mood to pay additional school taxes when propositions for school infrastructure and school employee pay raises were crushed.
The School Board responded in April on a 7-5 vote to table continuing with cost-saving portions of the plan.
Hayes and Mary Ellen Donatto, also a retired educator and Eunice School Board member, voted to go forward with cost-cutting.
The cost-savings measures included closing and consolidating schools.
According to a preliminary enrollment projection report by demographer Mike Hefner in August 2017, the school district’s enrollment decline is not over.
By 2023, St. Landry Parish public school enrollment is projected to drop to 12,959 — a 901 student drop from 2016’s enrollment of 13,860.