The state’s latest headcount numbers indicate enrollment is down at Wichita Public Schools.
The state conducts a headcount at each district once at the start of the fall semester, measuring how many students are in attendance that day. That provides a rough snapshot of about how many students are enrolled in each district.
Wichita Public Schools’ official headcount this year was 43,643. That’s down about 3% compared to last year’s headcount of 45,075.
In Kansas, each school district gets state funding based on how many students are enrolled. The Wichita school district is set to lose about $8 million in state funding this year due to enrollment declines.
“This decline is not unexpected,” Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld said in a release. “While enrollment changes always matter, this year's numbers are largely consistent with broader demographic trends.”
Schools across Kansas and the rest of the U.S. are grappling with what’s commonly called the “enrollment cliff.”
As people in general are having fewer babies, enrollment is declining at K-12 schools and universities — and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years and decades.
In 2023, the Wichita school district’s projections indicated a student enrollment decline through the 2033-34 school year.
“Communities change over time, and Wichita is no exception,” Bielefeld said.
The district has also cited declining enrollment in some of its recent decisions to close schools, saying many of the surrounding neighborhoods don’t have as many families with children as they once did.
USD 259 remains the largest school district in the state by far.
The next four largest school districts all have headcounts in the 20,000s: Olathe Public Schools, Shawnee Mission School District, Blue Valley Schools and Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools.
