With Wichita school budget cuts predicted, census has an added urgency
The Wichita school district wants to make sure families complete the 2020 Census.
In urban districts like Wichita, with significant numbers of Latino and immigrant students, issues such as language barriers, distrust of government and fear of immigration enforcement could keep many families from filling out census forms — but stakes are high for school districts if they don’t.
“Federal dollars are a very important revenue stream for the district,” said Susan Willis, chief financial officer for Wichita schools. “And those dollars are determined based on the population in your state and your community.
“So we certainly want the word out there that this is important.”
Yes, it’s important. Particularly for Wichita schools this time around, because overall enrollment numbers are heading down — a trend that will affect the district’s budget as early as this coming fall.
Willis told Wichita school board members this week that declining enrollment, combined with skyrocketing transportation costs and other issues, will require budget cuts for the next academic year.
That’s before any negotiations on teacher pay. And it’s despite winning a nearly decade-old lawsuit over school funding that resulted in millions more dollars for Wichita, the state’s largest district.
Add a potential undercount of Wichita’s increasingly diverse student population — nearly two-thirds of the district’s students are Hispanic — and Wichita risks losing millions more dollars for special education, early-childhood education and other key areas of the budget.
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In the fall of 2018, the Wichita school board hired RSP Associates, an Overland Park-based consulting firm, to study demographic trends, enrollment patterns and how efficiently the district is using its space.
This week the firm’s president presented results of that study that showed enrollment trending downward in Wichita schools — particularly in younger grades — because of lower birth rates, development patterns, expanding school choices and other factors.
So the district faces a precarious crossroads: Fewer students means less funding from state and federal coffers.
And student populations prevalent within USD 259’s boundaries — young children, people of color, low-income families, foreign-born residents and households with limited internet access — are more likely to be missed in the 2020 Census count. Many families understandably remain skeptical of government assurances that their information won’t be shared with police or immigration enforcement agencies.
So Wichita school officials must rally the forces to make sure local children are counted in the census.
Beyond know-your-rights posters and public service announcements, schools should emphasize the importance of the census during conferences or other events, post reminders on social media, and allow families to use school-based wifi to complete the census online.
An accurate count will make sure all Wichita children receive the federal education aid they need and deserve.
