While other districts see a steady decline, Austin is increasing

Students change classes Thursday at Ellis Middle School. The Austin School District is in the midst of dealing with climbing enrollment and what to do about it. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Editor’s note: This is the first in a two part series on classrooms. Look for part two in Monday’s Herald.

In the back of Southgate Elementary School’s media center, Nicole Winter teaches English as a Second Language to students in a space where supplies were once stored. With enrollment steadily increasing, school officials have scrambled to find enough room for classes.

“We’ve used every space possible,” Winter said.

Southgate had to make room this year for new first and second grade classes, as well as find space for music and art classes. The media center hosted orchestra practice, art classes and after-school classes this year.

Winter, whose classes were in a regular room at the beginning of the year, was in her new space by December. She teaches as many as 12 ESL students at a time in her closet classroom.

“We’re kind of bursting at the seams, which is a good problem, but it’s one that in the future we’ll need to address,” Winter said.

Southgate exemplifies Austin Public Schools’ increasing enrollment, and why district officials want public support for a new school and renovations to Woodson Kindergarten Center. Enrollment is expected to increase by 300 to 400 students in five years. A demographic study done in 2010 predicts enrollment could increase by 800 to 1,000 in 10 years.

That makes Austin a novelty among southern Minnesota school districts, most of which are either maintaining or losing enrollment.

“(Austin’s trend) would make a lot of outstate districts envious of us as a community and a school district,” said Mark Stotts, Austin’s director of finance and operations.

Increasing enrollment

Austin’s enrollment growth began in 2003, when about 4,000 students attended school here, according to financial reports district officials file with the Minnesota Department of Education. Since then, student numbers have increased by about 50 a year, reaching an average of 4,388 last year. The district’s precise enrollment total varies through the school year, as students move into or out of the area.

Similar growth is expected over the next 12 months. Student population is expected to approach 4,600 students in 2012.

That increase isn’t normal for southern Minnesota school districts, which are almost entirely rural. Albert Lea’s enrollment has steadily decreased since 2000, from about 3,925 to last school year’s 3,215. Enrollment there is projected to remain stable for the next two years.

Owatonna Public Schools enrollment in 2000 was 5,127, and has been near that same average for the past 10 years. Last year, about 4,851 students attended Owatonna schools, and about 50 more are expected in 2012.

Winona Public School had one of the steepest enrollment decreases in southern Minnesota, from about 4,567 students in 2000 to about 3,321 last year. The district lost many of those students to private schools, according to Dan Pyan, director of fiscal affairs at Winona Public Schools.

“Everybody could see it coming,” Pyan said. “We did close down a school building. We look at enrollment a lot so it’s not like it’s on your doorstep.”

Winona, seat of the Catholic Diocese in southeast Minnesota, has four charter schools, five Catholic schools and a Lutheran school, all of which affects WPS’s “capture rate,” a measurement of what percentage of students in a district attend public school.

Unique Austin

Austin’s capture rate is high compared to other districts, even though some families send their children to Pacelli Catholic Schools. In addition, more families are having children in Mower County, according to Hazel Reinhardt, a demographer with more than 40 years’ experience researching school districts. Reinhardt put together last year’s enrollment projections, which led the school board to begin planning for a new school building.

“We know that the children entering school have largely been born in Mower County, in the city of Austin,” Reinhardt said. “That makes it kind of interesting to me. It’s a home-grown population. It tells us something about the characteristics of Austin.”

It is also the reason Austin is one of the few districts in Minnesota that consider a new school because of increasing enrollment. Reinhardt found Mower County births significantly increased over the past five years by looking at kindergarten class sizes, which means kindergarten classes in Austin should also grow significantly for the next five years.

In 2006, 435 babies were born in Austin compared to 385 the year before, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. While births dipped in 2007 to only 358, there were 460 in 2008. Compared to the 307 births in 1999, and lower birth rates before then, Austin birth rates are trending upward. Since the district has a capture rate average of about 70 percent, that means a large number of incoming students for Austin.

Reinhardt made four projections, ranging from the most conservative to the most extreme enrollment increases possible. Student enrollment this year skewed towards the more extreme projection, another indication that continued growth is likely.

Worthington Public Schools is one of the few districts in the area which is also experiencing significant growth. In 2000, about 2,426 students went to Worthington public schools. By 2006, only 2,143 were enrolled. But since then, the district’s enrollment has grown steadily to 2,371 last year.

“In four years time, we’ve seen about 300 more students,” said John Landgaard, Worthington superintendent. “We’re seeing what I would call a slow growth, a natural growth. We’re actually predicted to go up about 60 to 80 kids next year.”

Worthington schools added 10 classrooms to Worthington Middle School last year and moved fifth-graders to that building to make more classrooms available in its elementary schools. Yet Landgaard said district officials aren’t seeing enough growth to warrant a new school.

“Potentially, we’re going to have to have some discussions down the line,” he said.