Marin School Enrollment Plunges Amid Pandemic: Report

SAN RAFAEL, CA – Following a national trend likely fueled by the pandemic, Marin public schools saw a 5 percent enrollment decline over the previous year, The Marin Independent Journal reports.

Enrollment at Marin schools fell by 1,564, from 35,389 students at this time a year ago to 33,825, according to the report.

Marin experienced an even steeper decline a year ago during the first year of the pandemic, when enrollment fell by 1,638 students, the report said.

Marin isn’t alone.

Schools across the nation have seen a steep enrollment decline amid the pandemic according to EdSource, an education-focused news website.

According to data from 70,000 schools from 33 states, enrollment fell 2 percent, with kindergartens and grades one through three experiencing the most precipitous declines, EdSource reports.

The Los Angeles Unified School District experienced a decline of nearly 6 percent, losing more than 27,000 students since last year, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The California Department of Education earlier this year reported a 2.6 percent enrollment decline.

Marin’s enrollment has seen a steady decline of about 1 percent annually for the past decade, Marin County Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burke told the IJ.

“The reason for this year’s decline varies by district and we suspect the pandemic played a role,” Burke told the news outlet.

“Families may have moved out of the area during the pandemic.”

Read more in The Marin Independent Journal