Schools across New York are losing students. What's happening in Elmira area schools?

There are fewer students sitting in public school classrooms across New York state today compared to previous generations, and that trend is affecting school districts in the Elmira area.

Whether it's a loss of population in general, declines in birth rates, or other factors, school districts have been forced to make major changes to adjust to dwindling student numbers, including closing school buildings, adjusting staffing levels and reallocating resources.

The latest district in the Southern Tier to face that challenge is the Spencer-Van Etten Central School District, which is undertaking a study to find the best ways to address a significant drop in enrollment.

"Many schools across New York State have experienced similar trends in enrollment," said Spencer-Van Etten Superintendent Barbara Case.

"We are members of the Rural Schools Association of New York and have heard similar stories from many small, rural schools," Case said. "We have previously found ways for more efficiencies that benefit our students, and this study may help us find more."

Why is student enrollment dropping?

Across the state, overall enrollment in schools, prekindergarten through 12th grade, has been on the decline.

Total student enrollment in schools around New York was slightly more than 2.6 million in the 2017-2018 school year, according to statistics provided by the state Department of Education.

For 2022-23, that number was just over 2.4 million, a decline of 203,351 students, or about 7.8%.

There are a couple of forces driving that loss, according to David Albert, chief communications and marketing officer with the New York State School Boards Association.

"First, we are seeing people leaving the state. About 1.4 million people left New York state in the last decade," Albert said. "Second, we're seeing a lower birthrate. Between 2008 and 2020, the birthrate decreased 12%."

It's always tricky for school districts to close schools or consolidate resources in response to declining enrollment, Albert said, because that loss often occurs unevenly across grade levels.

How is Spencer-Van Etten responding to a loss of students?

About 20 years ago, enrollment in the Spencer-Van Etten School District was about 1,200 students, Case said.

That dropped to about 900 students in 2019, and decreased further to about 800 as of fall 2023, she said.

The district has three school buildings — elementary, middle and high school. There are no plans to close any of those buildings, but a study will hopefully reveal better ways to allocate resources among them, including possibly shifting where different grades are housed, Case said.

The current configuration at the elementary school is pre-k through 4th grade. There are teachers at the middle school who are elementary certified up to grade 6, according to Case, and teachers at the middle school that are certified in specific content areas for grades 7-12.

"We have asked the consultant to evaluate our current schedules and space to ensure we are being the most effective in offering opportunities for our students at each building while still being efficient with our staffing and space utilization," she said. "We do not know what recommendations the consultant will offer to us."

Spencer-Van Etten has about 140 instructional and 75 non-instructional employees, and no changes in staff levels are anticipated, Case said.

It is possible to see more collaboration with other school districts, she added, as Spencer-Van Etten already shares athletic programs and other initiatives with the Candor district.

"We also share instructional opportunities for students with Candor, as well as a shared cafeteria manager," Case said. "We have previously found ways for more efficiencies that benefit our students, and this study may help us find more."

What's happening in other area school districts?

Enrollment has remained steady or declined some in recent years in several Elmira-area school districts, while a few have even seen a modest increase in student numbers.

Some districts have already gone through major downsizing in response to shrinking enrollment. Here's what's happening elsewhere in the region.

Elmira City School District: Elmira underwent a major restructuring a decade ago, consolidating two high schools into one and converting the other into a middle school.

Enrollment declined further in recent years, going from 6,066 students in 2017-2018 to 5,428 in 2022-2023, according to state Department of Education statistics.

But don't look for any additional consolidation any time soon.

"The short answer is that we’ve already gone through this exercise and work in Elmira," said Beth Manwaring, public information director. "The changes we’ve seen over the last five years don’t currently indicate a need for any additional restructuring."

More: Will there be school on April 8? How Elmira-area districts are planning for eclipse

Elmira Heights Central School District: Student enrollment has declined slightly in recent years, from 1,066 in 2017-18 to 1,043 in 2022-23.

Superintendent Michael Gill believes the district is somewhat insulated from the forces affecting enrollment in other small school districts, and no changes in staffing or facilities are expected.

"We believe that our location near larger town centers has helped us maintain our numbers," Gill said. "Even though we are a relatively small school, we are not in a significantly rural setting (like) other schools who have seen decline in numbers are.”

Horseheads Central School District: Enrollment in the Horseheads district dropped from 4,158 in 2017-18 to 3,804 in 2022-23.

But some of that decline was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Superintendent Thomas Douglas, who said current enrollment is 3,954.

The district is planning some consolidation in its elementary programs, but that's due to an older school building that will be closed and not changes in enrollment.

"We've seen a slight decline, 40 to 50 kids," Douglas said. "(The restructuring) has to do with realigning resources from four elementary schools to three. Our enrollment has been stable."

Corning-Painted Post School District: Like Elmira, Corning-Painted Post went through a similar consolidation a decade ago, closing two middle schools, merging two high schools into one and turning the other high school into a middle school.

Enrollment has declined overall in recent years, from 4,719 in 2017-18 to 4,425 in 2022-23, but the district has seen a slight uptick in the last three years, Superintendent Michelle Caulfield said.

"Every 10 years or so, we ask a demographer to help us predict trends in enrollment," Caulfield said. "This information helps us determine needed work in major facilities projects. Based on the 2023 report, enrollment will not impact any future facilities planning here in C-PP."

More: How Corning-area districts are planning for eclipse

Waverly Central School District: Student enrollment has remained steady and has actually grown in the last five years, state Department of Education figures show, after a significant decline prior to that.

Total enrollment was 1,510 in 2017-2018, and 1,531 in 2022-23.

"Fifteen years ago we were at 2,200. It's been around 1,500 the last six years," said Superintendent Eric Knowles. "We've done some realignment in the last five years but nothing significant."

Odessa-Montour Central School District: Overall enrollment dropped slightly in Odessa-Montour over the past several years, from 801 students in 2017-18 to 780 in 2022-23.

But that trend has been inching back in the other direction over the past few years, with current enrollment around 796, according to interim Superintendent Tracy Marchionda.

The district isn't planning any significant changes to facilities or staff, Marchionda said.

"The only staffing levels we have had to change is a small increase in special education teachers," she said. "We monitor our enrollment very closely and even with continued slight increases, we do not anticipate changing staffing at this time."

Follow Jeff Murray on Twitter @SGJeffMurray. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira-area schools losing students, following NYS trend. See where