San Juan Unified expected a modest enrollment drop this year as district officials planned for about 300 fewer students than last year.
The drop was much steeper — 1,200 fewer students enrolled.
San Juan Unified in Sacramento County is the seventh-largest school district in California, with about 50,000 students.
The drop, reported by Abridged, a local PBS outlet, may be due to a decrease in new immigrant students. San Juan Unified had previously enrolled many students who were refugees from other countries, which had partially stymied the overall student population decline that many districts have seen. The number of new immigrant students has declined statewide, as fewer people cross the border or enter the country with visas.
“That said, we’re still analyzing this year’s enrollment decline to better understand all of the factors involved, particularly why the decline was greater than projected,” district spokesperson Raj Raj told Abridged. “I don’t want to attribute the full change to any one factor while that work is still underway.”
The drop in enrollment could cost the district as much as $3.7 million in revenue this school year, according to Raj.
This story was originally published by EdSource.