Holton enrollment drop's impact explained

Concerns about staff reductions and a new virtual learning program in the Holton school district were addressed during a districtwide staff meeting earlier this month.

In January, the district announced that about six teaching positions would be eliminated at Holton Elementary School for the 2026-27 school year due to student enrollment decreases.

Holton Superintendent Trevor Ashcraft said that over the past year, the district’s enrollment has decreased by 68 students, which is about the size of an entire grade level in the district. 

“In Kansas, funding is tied directly to student enrollment and weighted categories tied to student needs. When those numbers drop, funding follows,” Ashcraft said in an email sent to district staff. 

For the current school year, the district’s enrollment is 1,582.7 students, which is down from 1,699 students last year and 1,727.8 students during the 2023-24 school year.

It was previously reported at a Holton school board meeting that the decrease would result in a reduction of $379,680 in state funding next year.

In the past, school districts could use the highest enrollment of the three previous years for state aid purposes. Starting next year, the most current enrollment numbers must be used to determine state aid.

“That is a meaningful drop in revenue in a short period of time,” Ashcraft said. “When enrollment decreases, funding decreases. And because staffing makes up the majority of our budget, staffing has to adjust.”

Ashcraft said there are several reasons why students are leaving the district. Many students are moving to virtual or homeschool options, while others are transferring to different districts.

He said that some families have told Holton district staff they are leaving because they feel their child is not getting the support they need or that the current social dynamics in Holton USD 336 are not working for their child.

“Those are not easy things to hear, but we need to know. If we want to stabilize enrollment, we have to understand those experiences honestly, and we have to be willing to make adjustments in those student/family experiences,” he said. 

Based on enrollment and the district budget, Ashcraft said he identified several positions that needed to be reduced in each building.

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