Arkansas Schools See Big Drop in Students

Arkansas public schools are seeing fewer students than they have in two decades. The state's education department reports that the number of K-12 students in public schools has dropped to 465, 421 this year. That's nearly 9, 000 fewer students than last year. The decline isn't just happening in one or two districts. Most of the state's largest school districts are seeing fewer students. Springdale, the biggest district, lost 559 students. Little Rock, now the third-largest district, saw 600 students leave. Conway, the ninth-largest district, had a 3. 7% drop in enrollment. So, why are fewer kids going to public schools? One big reason is the state's voucher program. This program gives families about $7, 000 per student to use for private school or homeschooling. Last year, about 14, 256 students used vouchers. This year, nearly 47, 000 students are using them.Critics say the voucher program mostly helps families who were already sending their kids to private school or homeschooling. It's not clear how many students left public schools to use vouchers. But even if all 9, 000 fewer students were due to vouchers, that's still less than 20% of the voucher program's participants. Vouchers aren't the only reason for the drop in public school enrollment. Public school enrollment has been falling nationwide for years. Lower birth rates mean fewer kids overall. The COVID-19 pandemic also played a role. Many families who left public schools during the pandemic didn't return. Arkansas has seen a smaller drop in enrollment than the national average. This might be because former Gov. Asa Hutchinson kept schools open as much as possible during the pandemic. But now, Arkansas is seeing a bigger drop in enrollment. Will this trend continue? Only time will tell.