Wichita, suburban school districts expect enrollment increases

Wichita school officials expect to see the district’s enrollment rise again when the official yearly head count is conducted Monday.

Unlike past years, though, because of the state’s move to block grant school funding, the number of students will not affect the district’s level of state funding.

Students statewide are counted as part of an official head count each year on Sept. 20. Because that date falls on a weekend this year, the count will be held Monday.

Wichita’s enrollment last year was 51,330 – up 161 students from the previous year and the highest since 1975. It is the state’s largest school district.

Jim Freeman, chief financial officer for Wichita schools, said he expects another increase this year, including a large number of students who are refugees.

The district is one of 38 that applied to the Kansas Department of Education for additional dollars to deal with a variety of needs, including enrollment increases. It is seeking nearly $1 million in aid to offer English language and emotional support to students arriving from Somalia, Myanmar and other war-torn countries.

That request so far has been denied. The State Finance Council, chaired by Gov. Sam Brownback, pledged to reconsider it in October, when the district has a better idea how many more refugee students it has.

School officials in suburban districts around Wichita also are expecting enrollment increases. Goddard, Maize and Haysville all reported increases last year.

The National Center for Education Statistics predicts that school enrollment across the country will hit record levels every year through at least 2020, reflecting expected increases in the size of the school-age population.

Demographics also are changing. Last fall, for the first time, the number of Hispanic, black, Asian and multiracial students in public school classrooms in the U.S. surpassed the number of non-Hispanic whites. Over the next few years, if not this year, the number of Hispanic students in Wichita schools is expected to exceed the number of non-Hispanic whites and become the largest ethnic group in the district.

Last school year, the Wichita district’s overall student body was 34 percent white, 33 percent Hispanic, 18.5 percent African-American, 8 percent multiracial, 4.5 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 1.25 percent Native American.

This story was originally published September 20, 2015 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Wichita, suburban school districts expect enrollment increases."