Montgomery County schools are educating just under 152,000 students this year, according to preliminary numbers.
That’s a drop of more than 4,000 children since last year, and it will no doubt influence the upcoming debate about campus closures.
Other than the year COVID hit — when Montgomery County Public Schools lost roughly 4,700 students — these figures represent the district’s steepest year-over-year decline in nearly five decades, officials said.
“These numbers are pretty dramatic,” said Donald J. Connelly, the district’s Department of Planning and Construction director.
And they’re projected to plunge further.
In 10 years, MCPS expects to enroll roughly 138,000 students — a decrease of more than 27,000 students since the district’s 2019 peak.
“The headline is that there are fewer births,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor said.
The school system is graduating far more seniors than it is welcoming kindergartners, he added.
It’s not just that fewer babies are being born in Montgomery County. The district is also enrolling a smaller share of children once they’re old enough to start kindergarten.
Those 5-year-olds may be homeschooled, enrolling in private schools or their families may have moved out of the area due to the high cost of living, federal job losses or immigration crackdowns.
“While we are a very unique school system, we are not unique in this trend,” Connelly said.
Having fewer students means less funding and more underutilized buildings.
MCPS leaders are soliciting community feedback ahead of deciding whether to close some elementary and middle schools.
Six years from now, the district expects to have more than 15,000 empty seats at the elementary level.
“That is a lot of seats,” Connelly said. “This is the entire reason we are exploring the closures and consolidation study.”
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