SYRACUSE, NY — Public school enrollment in New York is lower than it’s been since the early 90s, according to data compiled over a 10 year period by the Empire Center, a public policy non-profit organization in Albany.
Check out an interactive map showing the change in each school district below:
“We’re going in the opposite direction of the rest of the country. So, it puts us in stark contrast with enrollment trends,” said Peter Murphy, a Senior Fellow for Education at the Empire Center.
Murphy says that there are multiple factors that contribute to the decline.
“People are generally having smaller households, fewer children, while at the same time the state’s economic problems have led to a competitive challenge where people are leaving,” Murphy said.
Overall, Murphy attributes much of the enrollment decrease to people moving out of New York.
The enrollment decrease might be a cause of concern for parents, as Murphy says that many times when enrollment drops so does state funding and the number of resources available to a school.
“When there’s not as much money to give out in a given year, then some are going to get less than others based on their student enrollment.”
To read more on the study, click here.
© 2019 NBC 3
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