KUSD Enrollment Declines Again

KENOSHA, WI–Kenosha Unified’s enrollment is down once again this year. After last Friday’s official count, 453 fewer students are enrolled in KUSD compared to the last school year.

20,919 students were counted compared to 21,372 in 2018-19, the steepest decline in almost 10 years. However the is a mitigating factor to this year’s count.

The state of Wisconsin determines a district’s enrollment based on attendance on the third Friday of the school year. This year’s attendance was down possibly because some students stayed home Friday due to threats made against both Tremper and Bradford High Schools.

While an arrest was made in the Tremper threat before the school day started, and the Bradford threat was not deemed credible, many parents kept their children home. The good news is that KUSD may be able to use Thursday’s or Monday’s attendance numbers to help alleviate that concern.

Another factor in the declining enrollment is the continued decline in the local birthrate, which has been going on for at least a decade.