Despite falling enrollment, public schools haven't downsized
The number of students in U.S. public schools has dropped dramatically in recent years, with enrollment falling by more than a million students nationwide since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. That steep decline has intensified the financial strain on many districts, triggering often contentious public debates about school closures and staff layoffs.
Despite a significant drop in U.S. public school enrollment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of schools operating today is essentially the same as in fall 2019, according to new research from Stanford University. Enrollment declined by nearly a million students nationwide, with an average decrease of about 18 students, or 3%, per school.
However, the national pupil-teacher ratio has fallen 4% from its pre-pandemic baseline, with more teachers per student than in the past 15 years. Research conducted by Stanford Graduate School of Education professors Thomas S. Dee and Jaymes Pyne reveals that school closures were rare, with over 80% of districts operating the same number of schools in 2024 as in 2019.
Where schools did close, the closures disproportionately affected lower-income neighborhoods, schools serving higher concentrations of Black students, and charter schools. The misalignment between schools, staffing, and enrollment losses is attributed to political and economic factors in school district decision-making, including short superintendent terms and the visibility of closures to parents and teachers.
This creates an opportunity for districts to address budgetary pressures through better financial management, robust pre-K options, and retaining effective teachers and schools if downsizing is necessary.
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