Reply to Are schools going to close because of low enrollment?

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[quote=Anonymous]Yes, eventually some schools will close. Some charters already have. But, before that happens, they can just not offer as many classrooms. As long as expenses are trimmed to match, having a smaller enrollment is manageable. In the long run some teachers might have to start teaching elementary instead of preschool.

We have basically two school systems and hardly any centralized planning that accounts for both of them. DCPS can and does close schools, but it very rarely does that because it still has to guarantee enough seats for every child and the population could tick up again in the long run. And if a charter school closes, those kids have the right to their DCPS school on zero notice. So, DCPS maintains some extra capacity. And frankly given the number of charter schools that are looking pretty iffy, DCPS isn't wrong to be prepared for absorbing some kids.

Also, not filling up in the initial lottery isn't necessarily a problem. Some schools offer way more lottery seats than they've ever filled, just to avoid turning anyone away, and exist for years just fine without filling up in the initial lottery. They can accept kids all summer and during the school year if they want to. There are families still figuring out their plans and families moving here after the lottery and during the school year. So it's good that not all seats are taken in the initial lottery. The real question is what's the enrollment by Count Day in October.

Now, it's certainly possible that some charters will close, because charters can close on zero notice or be involuntarily closed because of financial collapse. There are a number of charters on basically probation-- improve or be closed-- and a number that have declining enrollment over the past 3-4 years.

When DCPS says that about stabilization funds, they mean just for this year. There could totally be budget cuts in the next year if enrollment doesn't rebound.[/quote]

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