Maryland schools had one homework assignment: report enrollment numbers to the state department of education by Sept. 30.
For two of the state’s largest school districts, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the figures show that enrollment is not yet up to pre-pandemic levels.
The numbers for Montgomery County were fairly flat, with an enrollment of 160,770 students recorded by the end of September. In Prince George’s County, school officials found 131,390 students had enrolled for the 2023-24 school year.
In both cases, the numbers are not at pre-pandemic levels. In Montgomery County, the numbers are down nearly 3% since the fall of 2019.
Montgomery County’s Board of Education met for a briefing on enrollment figures and the school system’s capital improvements plan Tuesday. Seth Adams, the associate superintendent for facilities management for MCPS, told the board “what’s happening here is very consistent across the region.”
At the same time, Adams said the current enrollment numbers are “preliminary.”
“Enrollment does move throughout the school year,” he said. “We have students that come in, whether it be international enrollment or within the country.”
Other factors can play a role in enrollments, according to Adams.
“There’s development, which is new housing, there’s turnover of housing, and when you see interest rates that are out there now, that’s certainly impactful to what we’re seeing,” he said.
Despite the dip in enrollment when compared to pre-pandemic levels, Montgomery County Superintendent Monifa McKnight said the school system should be planning for an enrollment increase of about 7,000 by 2030, according to projections.
The projections are based on trends over time and geographic factors, Adams said.
In an email to WTOP, Montgomery County school spokesperson Chris Cram wrote that a variety of factors led to a dip in student enrollment during the pandemic, including families who chose to send their children to private school, opted for home schooling or left the county.
Noting that enrollment did increase from its lowest point in 2021, Cram said “that is likely due in part” to declining birthrates in the county.
