About 30 fewer students are enrolled in Franklin schools this year compared to last year, but the decrease is worse than expected.
In fact, Franklin schools had estimated and budgeted for an increase of 17 students.
Franklin Community Schools reported 5,063 students enrolled at its eight schools this year. Last year, on the official count day when schools report enrollment to the state, 5,091 students were enrolled. The drop is by less than 1 percent, but the loss in income can be significant if enrollment doesn’t increase next year.
No immediate budget cuts are planned, but will be necessary in the future if enrollment doesn’t increase, or if it drops even further, Finance Director Jeff Mercer said.
"You can’t do that every year without making adjustments. You can survive that a year, maybe two," he said.
Enrollment dropped at five of the eight schools: Needham Elementary is down 44 students; the middle school is down 35; 23 fewer students attend Creekside Elementary; Webb Elementary dropped by 17 students; and Union Elementary is down 14 students.
Enrollment is up 61 students at the intermediate school; 38 students at the high school; and six students at Northwood Elementary.
The district isn’t sure why enrollment dropped, especially with downtown development and new business growth in the city.
"It’s a little hard to know why because when people leave, they don’t tell you why they leave," Mercer said.
Franklin’s main operating budget, which pays for teacher salaries, benefits, supplies and utilities, will take a hit this school year. The school district will receive about $200,000 less in state, per-student funding than last year, and more than $100,000 less than budgeted for. The district budgeted for 5,080 students this school year, and the funding they have received since July 1 has been based on that amount.
"It is certainly going to be tight. The board will have to work with us to figure it out. We’re not going to do anything this school year to react to being (28) kids down. But we’re going to have to figure out what to do moving forward," Mercer said. "Hopefully this is a one-year blip. We’ll just see where we go. Frankly, I didn’t see this coming."
The kindergarten grade level suffered the biggest losses, with the incoming class having 25 fewer children this year.
A demographic study completed for the district in 2016 showed that the enrollment would remain steady for several years. Last year, enrollment grew by 26 students.
"I had really hoped that we would grow by 30 again this year, and I really thought we had a shot," Mercer said.
"I have no idea, and I say that very honestly. With all of the energy and synergy in downtown Franklin, you would think on the surface that we were growing, but we’re not."
The only explanation he can come up with is the types of homes that are for sale in Franklin. Younger couples who do not have children yet tend to purchase starter homes, and the older historic homes in downtown Franklin are generally sought after by older families who no longer have school-aged children, Mercer said.
"I think the types of homes we have don’t necessarily attract families with school-aged children," he said. "There isn’t much available in the $250,000 to $300,000 range here in Franklin."
Another question is whether the drop in enrollment had anything to do with the ongoing concern about any area of contamination in the city. Due to public concern, the school district decided to test for volatile organic compounds at Needham and Webb, which both saw enrollment drops this year. The results from the school district’s testing showed no concerns.
"I don’t know that we have been able to determine that that was a factor at all. Webb’s (enrollment) is virtually the same. Needham is down a little," Mercer said.
The most significant dip in enrollment was at Union Elementary, Mercer said. Losing 14 students is significant at a school of 150 students on average, he said.
"That’s a big move at such a small school," he said.
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Here is a look at how many students each Franklin school gained or lost this year:
Custer Baker Intermediate School: 61 more students
Franklin Community High School: 38 more students
Northwood Elementary: 6 fewer students
Union Elementary: 14 fewer students
Webb Elementary: 17 fewer students
Creekside Elementary: 23 fewer students
Franklin Community Middle School: 35 fewer students
Needham Elementary: 44 fewer students
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