Rochester Public Schools Still Waiting For Enrollment Rebound

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester School Board will be presented this evening with an important report from school district staff.

It's the annual official enrollment report that is submitted to the state each fall for use in calculating the amount of per-pupil funding the Rochester Public Schools will receive from the state for the current school year. The data is collected every year on the first school day in October

The report shows there were 17,581 students attending the Rochester Public Schools as of October 2. School officials say the total is down 148 when compared to October 1st of last year, but it is 147 above the enrollment level predicted by the school district's most recent enrollment projections. Both numbers represent a variance of less than 1%.

The report indicates enrollment in the Rochester School District peaked in the fall of 2019 when the annual student headcount reached 18,296. That represented an increase of 134 students from the previous year but was 120 below the projection.

The school district, along with most other public school systems in the US, experienced a dramatic drop in enrollment the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It dropped by more than 660 students from the previous year and was more than 800 below the level that was projected in the spring of that year.

The Rochester Public Schools did experience an uptick in enrollment in the fall of 2021 when the headcount was 17,800, but that was followed by a decline of 71 students the following year. Despite the drops, overall enrollment for both of those years was modestly higher than projected.

The next enrollment projection is expected to be released in the spring.