By Andy Dahn
BLOOMINGTON – Looming changes in Illinois and Bloomington-Normal could mean less students in District 87 schools.
The school board was shown 2016-17 enrollment projections Wednesday night, which indicate a continuation of the slight decrease in enrollment the district has seen over the last few years. Superintendent Barry Reilly said changes to local companies may be contributing to that decrease.
“You’ve got State Farm that has leveled off it’s employment and you’ve had a shutdown, or at least a great reduction at the Mitsubishi Plant,” Reilly said. “Those are two major employers in town that probably have had some impact on this.”
Reilly said that problem could also have something to do with issues in Springfield.
“Some of that enrollment depends on whatever outcome comes out of the state budget, if any,” said Reilly. “We always have this looming issue that they keep talking about which is shifting the pension costs onto the local districts. That’s an unknown factor that could come into play.”
The district isn’t expected to revisit the projections until January, but Reilly said they will be monitored.
“I’m not alarmed by it,” Reilly said. “It is something though that we certainly have to continue to keep our eyes on. As the student population goes down, it impacts the staffing levels and it also impacts the funding we get from the state because it’s based on our average attendance. So the enrollment is definitely something that we will continue to watch.”
Andy Dahn can be reached at andy.dahn@cumulus.com.
