SPRINGDALE, Ark. — School districts are seeing a big drop in enrollment for the first time in decades.
While many parents opted for virtual learning this school because of COVID-19, many chose to drop out of their districts altogether and homeschool their children.
This drop-in enrollment can have a negative impact on school districts.
The Fayetteville School District says more than 700 students dropped from the district to be homeschooled this year. The Springdale School District has 280 fewer students enrolled this year than last year.
“That’s the first drop in enrollment in Springdale in decades," said Rick Schaeffer, Springdale Schools spokesman. "We’ve been the fastest growing district in Arkansas for years. In fact, no one in our district can remember the last time we had a drop."
Schaeffer says for each student that drops out that’s around $9,000 the district loses.
“If you’ve lost 280 students, obviously you figure out how many students per classroom, so some teachers that may have left, either retired or left for other reasons and went to another district or just got out of teaching," he said. "Some of those you just don’t replace and that helps you save some of that money."
Choice Education Network in Fayetteville has seen a 60% increase in their roster of first-time homeschoolers since August. The organization has also tripled in size and they now have a waiting list for families who want to homeschool in the spring.