Bend-La Pine Schools saw a decrease of nearly 300 students in fall 2023 compared to the previous year, continuing a trend of enrollment loss that started as the pandemic struck and has left the district with an 8.4% decline in student population since the fall of 2019.

Newly released data from the Oregon Department of Education show Bend-La Pine Schools outpacing the state in declining enrollment. Statewide, school districts are educating around 35,000 fewer students this year, a 6% drop since before the pandemic. From fall 2022 to fall 2023, the state’s school districts have around 5,000 fewer students, according to the data, or a drop of 0.9%.

Other Central Oregon school districts saw small increases or minuscule drops in enrollment from 2022 to 2023.

Central Oregon is experiencing fluctuations in student enrollment in public schools despite seeing growth in population. Bend grew from 103,916 people to 105,524 in 2023, an increase of 1.5% from the year before. Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties also saw increases in population during the same period, according to preliminary numbers from Portland State University.

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One reason for the disparity between population and enrollment trends might be that parents are educating their children themselves. Homeschooling in Central Oregon has grown nearly 200% since 2019, according to data from the High Desert Education Service District.

Bend-La Pine, Crook County, Jefferson County

Bend-La Pine saw a 1.6% decrease this year, concentrated mostly at the high school level.

The district reduced the attendance areas for Summit and Bend high schools to give the 4-year-old Caldera High an area of its own, wrote Scott Maben, communications director, in an email. This is part of the reason, in addition to incoming ninth graders, why Caldera High added over 300 students this year while the other two schools lost students.

“As a result, the attendance at Summit and Bend High has come down as we seek to balance student numbers across all four of our comprehensive high schools in Bend,” wrote Maben.

Oregon Youth Challenge, an alternative high school that is located in Bend but accepts students from all over Oregon, was not counted as part of Bend-La Pine Schools’ enrollment tally beginning this school year due to a legislative change in how the school is organized and funded, said Maben.

Several schools are down between 30 and 40 students, including Buckingham Elementary and Pilot Butte Middle School. Due to fluctuating class sizes from year to year, this isn’t unusual, said Maben.

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Oregon public schools are funded according to the number of students in each district, with additional funding for students enrolled in programs such as English Language Learners or special education.

Staff numbers are adjusted each school year to match enrollment, regardless of whether it is up or down, Maben wrote. The district uses a formula so classroom staffing matches average class size.

When enrollment drops, appropriate staffing is often accomplished through retirements and resignations, Maben wrote. The upcoming potential tax levy the school district could be asking voters to pass in May was proposed to meet other needs and has no bearing on enrollment changes.

What about the other districts?

Crook County Schools saw a 3.4% increase in students last fall, significantly at Barnes Butte Elementary and Crook County High School.

“Even since before the pandemic, we’ve consistently seen enrollment growth,” said Jason Carr, communications director. “We were really one of the first schools in Oregon to reopen and offer at least a hybrid option for students (during the pandemic)…We worked really hard to get students back in the classroom safely and as soon as possible, so I think that certainly helped.”

The district also started Grizzly Mountain HomeLink, a district-offered online program, which gives students the opportunity to learn at home but still connect with the district. Carr said the community is also growing, with more housing being built in Prineville.

“Construction has continued to boom here,” he said. “We’re seeing an influx of younger families moving into the area.”

Jefferson County School District experienced a 3% decrease in student population. Most schools were down students, though not in significant numbers.

Sisters School District increased its student population by 2% and now has 1,173 students.

Redmond School District saw a 0.2% decrease in students, and is down 15 students.

Culver School District saw a nearly 1% increase, since the district added six students.