Higher enrollment trend a boon to school district, community

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

In just two years, there are nearly 50 more students enrolled in the Charles City School District.

That’s good economic news for the district and the community.

“We’ve been really blessed. Our enrollment’s up in two consecutive years,” said Charles City Superintendent Mike Fisher. “With a major business closing in town, our goal this year was just to break even, and not to lose kids. We actually gained kids, and we learned that a lot of people who lost their jobs decided to remain in the community.”

According to Fisher, Charles City has the highest enrollment growth of any school in the Northeast Iowa Conference, which includes school districts in Waverly, Decorah, Oelwein, Cresco, Waukon and New Hampton.

“Charles City is becoming the school of choice in Northeast Iowa,” said Charles City Communications Director Justin DeVore. “We don’t plan to stop that any time soon. The community and the school grow together, and they fall together.”

Fisher called DeVore the “chief experience officer,” and credited him for helping to keep enrollment numbers up.

“He’s done a tremendous job of sharing our story, and people have been choosing us,” Fisher said. “We want to make sure that we’re very invitational.”

Certified enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year is 1549.88, an increase of 9.26 from last year’s 1540.62. The “C-Count,” or number of students the district is serving, went up by 11 students, from 1504 to 1515. According to Fisher, Charles City’s enrollment has gone up by seven students since the beginning of the school year, when the numbers were certified.

Last year, the certified enrollment numbers increased by nearly 40 students, after drops of 11 students in 2017-18, 18 students in 2016-17 and 11 students in 2015-16.

The last two years have been a reversal of a trend. Before last year, Charles City had averaged a decline of approximately 11 students per year over a 10-year stretch. Enrollment numbers dropped by nearly 40 students in 2009-10 and by more than 47 students in 2014-15.

Fisher said better enrollment numbers are not just about the school, they reflect on the community as well.

“Rural Iowa is struggling to attract and retain people, and the fact is your school district is the front door to rural Iowa,’ he said. “Whether it’s sports, or fine arts or whatever — we send busloads of our kids all over the place every night, representing our school and community.”

The increased enrollment numbers are also positive for the district because they directly impact the amount of money the district receives from the state government. The district will likely receive more than $60,000 of additional state funds this year, depending upon how the state Legislature adjusts supplemental aid. Last year, that number was over a quarter-million dollars.

“More kids is always better for our budget,” Fisher said. “Costs never go down, but state funding can go up or down, depending on enrollment.”

Iowa schools are funded on a per-pupil basis, and the enrollment totals submitted will determine the general fund and sales tax funding the district will receive. The more students in a district, the more money a district gets. This year, the number is around $7,000 per pupil. The district also gets supplemental weighting for some of the courses that are taught, which is why there are fractions of students among the certified totals.

Fisher said 42 students are open-enrolling into the district while 32 students living in the district are enrolling outside the district.

“We’ve been actually able to backfill some of the cuts we’ve had to make in previous years,” he said. “Our activities sponsors and some clerical staff that were cut during down enrollment years have been added back.”

DeVore said that he believes the best way to keep enrollment numbers up is to get prospective students through the doors.

“You walk into the building, there is a sense of joy and happiness,” he said. “Teachers want to be there, students want to be there. People feel that as they walk into our schools.”

Student-guided tours have played a big role in improving the district’s image, according to DeVore. In the past, if a person wanted a tour of a building or the district, it would more than likely be led by one or two administrators, who would dryly escort a person through the building or buildings.

“Now, we put our students front and center,” DeVore said. “We have students who speak about their experiences, instead of it coming from an adult.”

“When you take a tour with our student leaders, that’s what gets you hooked,” Fisher agreed. “That’s unique.”

DeVore said word of mouth has also been important — parents of students have been increasingly happy with what’s going on in the district, according to DeVore.

“There has been a culture shift from students and staff in the last 18 months, and it has had an impact,” he said. “We want people to invest an hour with us and see what our schools are like. Once you get a taste of the Charles City experience, it is fantastic. The amount of love and learning that’s happening on an everyday basis is phenomenal, across the board.”

Fisher indicated the district takes a good deal of pride in its ability to attract more students into the district and community.

“People have choices. We are an open-enrollment state, and we have also private schools,” Fisher said. “We just want to make sure that people know they have a real high-quality choice right here.”

Despite all the work the district has done to attract students, ultimately, the district has little control over enrollment. Local and regional economic conditions — as well as a simple matter of annual birth rates — have more impact, but both Fisher and DeVore are hopeful looking ahead to next year.

“We have to be cautious, because we don’t ultimately control it, but we do want to have people continue to choose us, and see that the Charles City experience is one that is right for their family,” Fisher said.

Charles City School District Certified Enrollment
(K-12), 2008-2020:
2008-09: 1,594
2009-10: 1,554 (-40)
2010-11: 1,546 (-8)
2011-12: 1,549 (+3)
2012-13: 1,580 (+31)
2013-14: 1589 (+9)
2014-15: 1,542 (-47)
2015-16: 1,531 (-11)
2016-17: 1,513 (-18)
2017-18: 1,502 (-11)
2018-19: 1,541 (+39)
2019-20: 1,549 (+8)