Mid-Prairie, Cardinal attract students while big schools see enrollment decline

School districts anxiously await the release of their enrollment numbers each November, because that determines the amount of money they will receive from the state government.

Most of the school districts in southeast Iowa are losing students, though there are a few that are holding the line and even some that are growing thanks to their ability to attract students from outside the district.

The growing districts

A few of the most rapidly growing districts in the region are Mid-Prairie and Cardinal. They're both doing well in attracting students from outside their district. For instance, Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider said that about 10 students open enroll into his district for every student who open enrolls out.

Mid-Prairie boasts just over 200 students open enrolled in, from a variety of surrounding districts with Washington, Keota and Highland school districts contributing at least 40 students each. And the students are coming at all grade levels, from kindergarten through 12th grade. Mid-Prairie also attracts 186 students from other districts into its Home School Assistance Program, with just over half of those coming from the Iowa City Community School District.

Mid-Prairie's certified enrollment rose by 19 students from last year and is now 1,278. Its overall enrollment, counting students open enrolled in minus those enrolling out, rose 26 students to 1,522.

Schneider said it's hard to pinpoint the reason Mid-Prairie has fared so well in open enrollment.

'I am going to assume that the reasons for open-enrolling into Mid-Prairie are varied,” he said. 'I believe that what is constant is the solid reputation Mid-Prairie has for delivering excellent learning opportunities to our students. We pride ourselves in delivering educational excellence in our programs, however, no matter how good we are, we are always striving to get better.”

Cardinal's open enrollment into the district has exploded. Even while certified enrollment in the district declined 10 percent from the 2008-09 school year to this year, falling from 630 students to 570, the overall enrollment has ballooned to 930.

All throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Cardinal was losing a large number of students to other districts, between 40-60 each year. Open enrollment was costing the district about $200,000 annually. However, that began to turn around in 2012 when, for the first time in decades, Cardinal had more students join the district than leave it. Every year since, more and more students from outside the district are choosing to enroll at Cardinal. This year, the district can report a net gain in open enrollment of 337 students (394 in and 56.7 out).

Cardinal superintendent Joel Pedersen said the school has been able to add 25 certified positions and nearly double its workforce in the past decade.

'This is directly related to revenue we receive in open enrollment,” he said, which was almost $2.3 million for the last school year. 'We have added programs, classes and coaches during this same time period, while keeping elementary class sizes around 20-22 kids.”

What is the secret to Cardinal's success? Pedersen said it all had to do with a change in attitude.

'Our culture focuses on the power of positivity and looking for solutions instead of mindless complaining,” he said. 'We are far from perfect, but my staff believes that they can make a difference in a child's life by believing that 1) What they think matters, and 2) What they do matters. This kind of culture resonates with parents and prospective families. They want to be a part of our culture.”

Pedersen said he'd love to see the district grow even more. The main challenge limiting further growth is the lack of affordable housing in the area.

Big schools see decline

The three big schools in The Union's coverage area - Fairfield, Washington and Mt. Pleasant - all reported declining enrollments. The drop is especially pronounced for both Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant, each of which shed about 200 students in the past 10 years. Washington didn't lose quite as many, down about 60 students in certified enrollment from 2008-09. However, the Demons are losing students to open enrollment, with a served enrollment 65 students lower than the number living in its borders.

Washington superintendent Willie Stone said everything from lack of job opportunities, housing and families having fewer children can all contribute to the decline in enrollment his and surrounding school districts are experiencing. Stone said several groups in the area are working to meet these shortcomings, groups such as Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG), Washington Main Street, the chamber of commerce, city council and housing development groups.

Mt. Pleasant superintendent John Henriksen said there are a few reasons for the decline in his district. One of those is that there are fewer births in Henry County now than 10-15 years ago. Another reason is open enrollment. Henriksen said the district will conduct a survey of the families who open enroll out, to understand why they are doing that.

'Ultimately, school choice is an option for families in Iowa, and I certainly support the opportunity for families to make the kinds of educational decisions that they believe are best for their children,” Henriksen said.

One point that the superintendents of the big schools brought up was that most school districts across the state are declining in population. Henriksen said that the growth is isolated to a few of the most urban counties such as Polk, Johnson, Linn and Woodbury. Fairfield superintendent Laurie Noll said school districts that are on or near Interstate 80 are growing, and are shrinking pretty much everywhere else.

'Enrollment in rural Iowa has seen a steady decline for decades,” Noll said. 'The common factors among all of us [school districts] include larger factory jobs are no longer a part of the area. For example, Fairfield's large manufacturing company Rockwell closed sending people to other areas to find employment.”

Whether a district is growing or shrinking has a direct impact on its budget, because its enrollment determines how much money it receives in supplemental state aid. For this school year, that figure is $6,736 per student.

Going out

Van Buren Community School District is having to battle not only declining certified enrollment like the three big schools, but also a large number of students leaving through open enrollment. The district has seen its certified enrollment decline by about 200 students since 2008-09 and is now 945, while its served enrollment is nearly 200 lower than that at 771.

Van Buren superintendent Jeremy Hissem said the school lost 40 students since last year, which will mean $275,000 less in state aid. He and the school board will discuss how the district will balance its budget in light of the bad news, which will likely spelling staff reductions.

'It's hard to predict the future, but I hope we steady out and see a slight increase,” he said. 'We have a great school with excellent staff and students.”

Coming in

Pekin Community School District is similar to some of the bigger surrounding schools in that its certified enrollment has declined over the decade, but it's been able to make up for that with increasing open enrollment into the district. For instance, the district increased its enrollment by 20 students since last year, rising to 689 overall. Pekin superintendent Dave Harper said overall enrollment has been trending up for the past three years thanks to an influx of students through open enrollment, despite the fact that certified enrollment declined about 18 percent between 2008-09 and 2018-19.

'There are various reasons parents have told me that they want their child to go to Pekin,” Harper said. 'The majority have said they want their child in a smaller setting: 83 percent of our 7th/8th graders are involved in at least one extracurricular activity and 86 percent of our 9-12 students are involved in at least one extracurricular activity. Our class sizes are kept low to increase the teacher student ratio.”

When asked about the school's long-term prospects for growth, Harper said he expects Pekin's enrollment to remain steady in the upcoming years.

Winfield-Mt. Union Community School District is in the same boat as Pekin, with a declining certified enrollment but a steady overall enrollment thanks to students coming from outside the district. Winfield-Mt. Union has seen about a 17 percent decline in certified enrollment the past 10 years, including a drop from 321 to 308 this year. However, the district serves 393 students.

Superintendent Jeff Maeder said the reasons for the drop in certified enrollment is that the overall population in the area has been declining, and the community has not seen new housing or other forms of development.

Maeder said the school district has been able to maintain its programs despite the decline, though it has had to reduce some staff by offering early retirement, not replacing staff who leave, and by failing to renew contracts.

'I'm optimistic we're going to level out on our numbers in the next couple of years,” Maeder said. 'Our community is safe, our school has a favorable reputation evidenced by a high ratio of open enrolled and tuitioned in students compared to those residing here and attending school elsewhere. We have a lot of young families living here that are invested in the community and in the school.”

WACO, Wayland Area Community School District, saw its certified enrollment for October 2019 hold steady at 488, the same as its overall enrollment. The district's enrollment has not changed much in the past decade, though its overall enrollment has risen in the past six years. For instance, in 2013, it was 454.

New London's enrollment hasn't changed much, either. In 2013, its overall enrollment was 524, with a certified enrollment of 526. Though its certified enrollment has fallen to 494, it's more than made up for the loss by attracting new students, and its overall enrollment is now 529.

Slight decline

A number of small schools are reporting slight declines in their enrollment, such as Highland Community School District, whose enrollment fell about 3.4 percent in the past decade, and is now at 619. Highland superintendent Ken Crawford said that he's new to the district, so he's not sure how to explain the drop, but he suspects it could be related to closing the Ainsworth Elementary School in 2017.

'I also think being close to Iowa City is a blessing and a curse,” Crawford said. 'We believe our population is growing with new housing in town, but we also know it can be convenient for people to take their children to an Iowa City school since they would be closer to them during their work day.”

Crawford said the future looks bright for Highland because of new housing construction in Riverside. He expects enrollment will stabilize during the next few years and then begin to grow.

Keota Community School District's certified enrollment has fallen slightly in the past decade, from 345 in 2008-09 to 333 in 2018-2019. However, it rose more than 20 students to 357 in the fall of 2019. The overall number of students it now serves is 303, taking account of open enrollment.