About 4,500 fewer students will attend school in the Salem-Keizer School District by 2030, according to a new district forecast. The new report will inform plans for school renovations and potential closures over the coming years. The report predicts enrollment will continue to decline at a stead y pace, losing the equivalent of a full elementary school worth of students each year.  By 2030, schools in the state’s second-largest district will enroll about 32,000 students — down from a peak of almost 42,000 in 2017.  Learn more about school building plans The Salem-Keizer School District is hosting two meetings where anyone can come and learn more about the facilities planning process. Spanish interpretation will be available at both. Wednesday, Jan. 28, 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Leslie Middle School library Thursday, Jan. 29, 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Claggett Creek Middle School commons That means the district will likely see a decline in state funding. The state pays school districts a base amount per enrolled student, with additional money for students with disabilities, those learning English and others with additional needs.  It also paves the way for the school board to consider closing or consolidating some of the district’s 65 schools, though there are no plans currently. “We’re not looking at any closures over the next year, but it will kick off a dialogue of what do we do about that enrollment in the next year,” said Paul Odenthal, the district’s chief operations officer. “With the enrollment going down I think we have to consider that as a very viable option for our way going forward.” The district last closed schools during a round of budget cuts from 2008 to 2014, shuttering five rural elementary schools. School district leaders shared a copy of the enrollment report with Salem Reporter. They will present the forecast to the school board on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Two factors are driving the drop in Salem and across the state. Birth rates fell significantly during the Covid pandemic, and the smaller population of children born in 2020 and 2021 are now beginning kindergarten. “Right now we’re graduating 3,500 kids and we’re bringing in 2,500 kindergarteners,” Odenthal said. Fewer families are choosing to put their children in public school. Odenthal said more are using homeschool or private options such as micro schools, co-ops and other programs that sprang up during the pandemic. In 2019, about 90% of kindergarten-age students within the district attended a public school, the report shows. Now, it’s about three in four. There’s no geographic pattern to the enrollment drop, he said. Declines are roughly even across the district, and new housing construction isn’t adding large numbers of families to school rosters. The projections are part of the routine updating done every 10 years to assess the condition of school buildings, determine needed renovations and see whether the district needs to sell or acquire property That assessment is currently underway. A community task force is meeting regularly to help finalize an updated facilities plan, which will likely go to the school board for approval in April. The plan will also guide the district’s next request for a property tax measure to fund school renovations. Typically, voters have been asked to approve such funding every 10 years.  Salem voters approved the last such measure in 2018, paying for major expansions and renovations at every high school and smaller projects at most middle and elementary schools. At the time, school enrollment was expected to grow and many high schools faced overcrowding. Odenthal said so far, the task force has identified building safety and systems like heating, air conditioning and ventilation as priorities. Contact Managing Editor Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241. LOCAL NEWS DELIVERED TO YOU: Subscribe to Salem Reporter and get all the fact-based Salem news that matters to you. Fair, accurate, trusted – SUBSCRIBE The post Salem schools will lose thousands of students over next 5 years appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less