Chatham County Schools Experiencing Loss of 200 Students, Despite Population Growth
Funding for 2022-2023 from State reflects loss of 200 students
A few questions to consider:
Why is CCS losing students?
What is our district doing to earn the trust of current families and those expected to move to the county in coming years?
Let us know what you think in the comments section.
State Funding for Next School Year Accounts for Loss of Students
“Our daily membership that we’re getting allocated on next year is down from the previous year. It’s down over 200 students. I think that’s going to be a temporary shortfall. Well… for lack of a better term, a temporary dip in our ADMs because we’re definitely expecting growth,” stated Mr. Tony Messer, Chief Finance Officer for Chatham County Schools during a budget proposal presentation on April 11, 2022.
ADM (which stands for “Average Daily Membership”) refers to “The total number of school days within a given term - usually a school month or school year - that a student's name is on the current roll of a class, regardless of his/her being present or absent, is the "number of days in membership" for that student.”
Current Chatham County Schools Enrollment: 8,829
As of January 2022, Chatham County Schools counted 8,829 students enrolled in the district.
If 200 students have left the system, that constitutes a 2.3% loss.
Chatham Seeing Above Average County Population Growth
Chatham County population has been growing at rate of 2.1%, which is above the state average for North Carolina (1.1%). The county added 1,604 residents between April 1, 2020 and July 1, 2022 (source).
The Chatham Park developers, Preston Development, expect to have added 60,000 residents to Chatham County by the year 2045 (chathampark.com). Representatives from Preston Development gave a presentation about expected growth in the next 15 years at the February 2022 CCS Board of Education meeting.
References
Recording of April 11, 2022 Chatham Board of Education Meeting
2022-2023 Local Current Expense Budget Presentation CCS - April 11, 2022
Chatham Park - February 2022 Chatham County Board of Education Meeting Slides
February 2022 Chatham Board of Education Meeting (Chatham Park Presentation begins at 2:07:20)