SDL tackles equity and inclusion, decreasing enrollment and community satisfaction
When: School District of Lancaster school board meeting, Nov. 12. Board member Kareena Rios was absent.
What happened: The district will change how it allocates funds to improve equity and inclusion and also tackle decreasing enrollment, Drew Shenk, chief financial and operations manager, told board members as he presented three goals the district hopes to reach by 2029. For the remaining target, personnel will assess and work to raise overall satisfaction among community members, Schenk said.
Equitable distribution: Finance workers are devising a complex funding formula that will weigh test scores, poverty levels, social needs and other factors to determine what money, staff and equipment should go to each building, said Kimberly Reynolds, finance director.
Student groups: For instance, budget writers will consider the number of English language learners and pupils enrolled in special education at each building — a move the district took with the 2024-25 spending plan, Reynolds said. The School District of Lancaster plans to use the new equity formula to distribute 75% of resources by 2029, Schenk said.
Quotable: "The main purpose of this is to allocate the resources to the best ability that we can to serve our students, to close the achievement gap and to provide equitable staffing for all student needs across the district," Reynolds said.
Changes: Prior to this year's budget, the district used a method based on three-year enrollment averages for each building combined with enrollment averages for the entire district, Reynolds said in a Nov. 13 email.
Enrollment: The district has continued to enroll fewer students each year since 2017-18, when enrollment reached about 11,210 pupils, said Jeremy Raff, who directs the district's analytics department.
Numbers: The district recorded 9,948 students Oct 1, down from 10,015 pupils Oct. 1, 2023, Raff told board members. As of Nov. 5, 2024, 88.5% of students eligible to attend district schools had enrolled, compared with 88.4% at the end of last year, Raff said in a Nov. 14 phone call. The target is to get 90% of available students attending district schools by 2029.
Problem: The birth rate has declined in Lancaster city and Lancaster Township, Raff told board members. In addition, fewer families are choosing the district for their children. Instead, some families send their kids to private, cybercharter or charter schools, he said.
Not alone: Other Lancaster County school districts share that dilemma, except for Hempfield, Penn Manor and Manheim Township, which saw modest enrollment gains according to data from 2018 through 2023, Raff said.
Quotable: "We're all struggling with the same issue," Raff said.
Why it matters: The state Department of Education bases a district's funding on an average of its enrolled students. Continued declines will translate to less money, Raff explained during the meeting.
Tools: Administrators plan to create a district census at the five-year mark between the U.S. Census, which happens every 10 years. This way, personnel will be able to contact families who have children who one day would be eligible for kindergarten, Schenk said.
Feedback: Two surveys will measure how satisfied the school community feels about buildings and services close to them, Schenk said. One questionnaire will ask about properties built or renovated during the district's third construction phase, which recently ended. Another survey will assess satisfaction with buildings included in the fourth construction phase, after it is completed, around 2028.
More: The district plans to work toward four out of five respondents expressing satisfaction, Schenk said.
