High numbers of homeschoolers and declining enrolment are straining local school budgets

Franklin County, Virginia – Many of our hometowns’ school districts are reporting a drop in student enrollment, and since the epidemic, homeschooling has become more popular. The numbers are noteworthy for certain districts, such as Franklin County.

Superintendent Kevin Siers of Franklin County Public Schools stated, “Last year, we had to close two elementary schools because of state budget cuts and because of our declining enrollment.”

He clarified that the surge in homeschooling is one of the main causes of the enrollment decline. 6,160 kids were enrolled in the district’s homeschool program in 2023–2024, while 994 pupils were homeschooled.

Maintaining our enrolment levels is vital to our budget. Since our funding is determined on the number of students enrolled, we must always consider where we may make budgetary cuts whenever there is a decline in enrollment, according to Siers.

To put things in perspective, Siers stated that the federal government provides the district with funding equal to roughly $6,000 for each registered kid. Multiplying that figure by the 994 pupils who were homeschooled in the 2023–2024 academic year results in a funding shortfall of around $6 million for the district.

However, it wasn’t always a huge smash. Enrollment figures for the 2018–2019 academic year were higher. Just 457 out of the 7,062 pupils in the district that year were homeschooled. This indicates that the increase in homeschooling following the epidemic came at a high cost, as evidenced by the $3.2 million drop from the 2018–2019 academic year. And it’s a trend observed across the country in school systems.

“At the onset of COVID, the average number of homeschoolers increased to about 700 every year from the 500 we had before the outbreak. We’re back down to about 650 right now, so we’re beginning to see a reduction,” said Brent Hudson, the chairman of the Roanoke County School Board.

With a more recent push to close the gap with homeschool families, he hopes those numbers continue to decline.

Hudson said, “We can support homeschool parents through our online academy, which offers a full course curriculum, and we also receive funding from the state and federal government.”

There is an online academy run by Franklin County Public Schools, and the number of homeschoolers there has also begun to decline. They might not be able to control all of the reasons for the enrollment decline, though.

Siers stated, “I believe that Virginia has seen a general outflow of its workforce; the state’s birthrate is declining, so there are a number of factors that are also contributing to the declining enrollment numbers.”

The public schools in Franklin and Roanoke Counties declare that they respect parents’ decision to homeschool and acknowledge that it might be the best choice for certain families.