APS growth due primarily to "shifting" population
Albuquerque Public Schools announced in a press release yesterday, with the headline "Flat Enrollment, Crowded Schools, Tough Economic Times Challenges for District," that the district is facing a $20 million shortfall in the coming school year. The press release explained that:
"Though district enrollment has seen little growth over the past several years, crowded schools have required APS to build additional schools. One of the district’s challenges this coming school year is to figure out how to fund operational costs for nine new schools without an increase in student enrollment."
The Independent followed up with APS spokesperson Johanna King to clarify what seems to be a contradiction: there isn't an increase in enrollment, in fact the press release said that APS enrollment had dropped from 88,009 to 87,392, but new schools are being built, rapidly if this Journal article is any indication. According to King, the new construction is necessary because schools on the west side are overcrowded. King explained that:
It's not growth, it's a shift in enrollment. Area's of the city are changing, the population is shifting. For instance, we're seeing decreased enrollment in schools in the northeast heights, and the schools on the west side are very crowded. Edward Gonzalez elementary school, for example, has 1400 kids, so we need to split that enrollment by building another school on the west side.
Population data provided by the Bureau of Business and Economic Research shows that Bernalillo County has grown between one to two percent each year since 2002:
|
Bernalillo County |
Population |
% Change |
|
Modified Census 2000 |
556,002 |
|
|
July 1, 2000 |
556,902 |
0.16% |
|
July 1, 2001 |
561,942 |
0.91% |
|
July 1, 2002 |
572,206 |
1.83% |
|
July 1, 2003 |
581,151 |
1.56% |
|
July 1, 2004 |
591,799 |
1.83% |
|
July 1, 2005 |
603,783 |
2.03% |
|
July 1, 2006 |
615,099 |
1.87% |
But Toby Herrera, Director of the APS Student, School and Community Service Center, echoed King's statement that the main issue with the budget shortfall is a population shift to the west side of Albuquerque, putting pressure on the district to build new schools without a significant increase in students. He added that charter schools have also had an impact on APS enrollment. He estimated that four to six thousand students have shifted into approximately 38 charter schools in the past six years. APS gets 95% of its funding from the State, based on the number of students in each district.
Hat tip to local blogger, Coco.
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