March 28, 2024

Newton schools see reduction in certified enrollment

District sees a drop in 8 students, administrators worry about future finances

Certified enrollment at Newton schools is down eight students from the previous year, which means the district’s income from the state will be taking a hit. With the current cost per pupil at $7,048, this loss of income — totaling $56,384 — is equivalent to a first-year teacher’s salary, superintendent Tom Messinger said.

According to documents included in Messinger’s 2021-2022 enrollment update, this year’s current enrollment is about 2,939 students. The previous 2020-2021 school year saw 2,947 students enrolled in the Newton Community School District. Certified enrollment counts are taken Oct. 1 every year.

Other factors are considered when determining a school’s finances, but certified enrollment does play a major part. The loss in certified enrollment is concerning, especially when the district’s residency numbers are also down 22 students. Messinger does not know the exact cause of the reductions.

“I wish I knew,” Messinger said. “Last year, there were obviously some more people who were not in school last year that either did competent private instruction or homeschooling. I think a number of those have returned. This year was a little bit of a slower start to registration, too.”

At the time of registration, he added, it looked like Newton would have between 170 to 180 students enrolled in kindergarten. Compared to the 191 kids enrolled in kindergarten during the 2020-2021 school year, those numbers would have been devastating; but by August this year 201 kindergartners were signed up.

Messinger speculated parents’ anxieties about the pandemic and what school may be like this year may have contributed to the drop, too. The uncertainty made decisions tough for some families. Regardless, it is difficult to pin down a reason, particularly when some schools have seen increased enrollment.

The reduction of eight students may not seem like much, but it is compounded bylower-than-forecasted revenues and higher-than-forecasted expenditures at the school district. Although pandemic stimulus money is available, it does not cover normal operating cost increases and can only be used for COVID-related items.

ESSER funds do help pay the salaries of counselors, nurses, custodians, professional development, software and some of the new teachers hired this year, but that well will eventually dry out. When it does, the district will need to find alternative funding sources and reduce its budget.

Tim Bloom, director of business services at Newton schools, said he and Messinger are worried about the future of the district and its finances.

“It is especially important and concerning with employers reducing staff in the community and the potential of families leaving,” Bloom said. “We hope to reduce the budget through attrition with an early retirement plan and hope to not have to lay anyone off. We will only know what will affect us as it happens over time.”

To put the lower certified enrollment numbers into perspective, Messinger created a scenario where all the students lost were from eighth grade. Even with eight kids gone, it is still not enough to reduce a whole section of eighth grade in the middle school. Most grade sections in the middle school are 20 kids or more.

“We’re losing roughly the equivalent of a teacher, but we didn’t lose enough kids to chop off a whole section,” Messinger said. “So, now, to be even more real or more accurate: We know those eight kids are not all from the same grade level. So you lose a kid here, a kid there, but we’re still losing a teacher in our income.”

The more kids a district loses over time, the more of an impact it has. Messinger questioned what the district would cut when reductions are spread out.

“It’s not as simple as saying, ‘Well we’re still going to cut a section of eighth grade.’ You may have only lost one eighth-grade student. So it becomes really challenging because you’re bringing in less money, but realistically you can’t just cut a position to make up for it without having an impact.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com

Christopher Braunschweig

Christopher Braunschweig

Christopher Braunschweig has a strong passion for community journalism and covers city council, school board, politics and general news in Newton, Iowa and Jasper County.