Declining Enrollment Continues Slow Trend

Glendora Unified continues to experience declining enrollment, according to a recent report delivered at the Oct. 24, board of education meeting.

The information was part of a resolution required under SB 680, legislation that extended District of Choice, detailing the number of available spaces for students applying under this provision.

Last year 7,105 students enrolled in the district. Glendora projects its ADA will be in the area of 7,000 students until 2013.

Based on a number of factors, such as demographics, graduation rates, new kindergartners enrolling, the district estimates 560 openings will be available to prospective students for 2012-2013, according to the report.

Following the adoption of District Of Choice in 2009, Glendora Unified accepted 1,115 applications for 2010-2011.

This year, 588 students applications were accepted through the program.

This number looks smaller because last year, many of those students were already in Glendora as interdistrict transfers, according to Michelle Hunter, assistant superintendent of educational services.

Roughly 700 of the District of Choice students enrolled last year were already interdistrict students.

Rather then filing a renewal application under the interdistrict process, parents opted for District of Choice to avoid the hassle.

"We anticipated that a vast majority of our interdistrict families would switch over to District of Choice," Hunter said.

The district's enrollment declined by over 1,000 students from 2001-2010 before climbing back up in 2010-2011. Shifting family demographics is partly the reason.

"It's what's called the graying of the community," Hunter said. "We don't have a lot of home turnover and as a result we have an older community, so we don't have younger children coming in."

Many schools are suffering from declining enrollment. A California School Board Association article reported about 977 of the state's schools are suffering.

The California Department of Finance reported low birth rates and people migrating away from the county will diminish enrollment by 14 percent from 2008-2009 levels.

Glendora receives children from over 20 different districts, some as far away as Rancho Cucamonga and Yucaipa.

The majority of students come from Azusa Unified, Charter Oak and Bonita Unified.

218 students left Azusa Unified and came to Glendora this year, according to Kathleen Miller, Azusa Unified spokeswoman.

Less then 20 transferred in from Bonita Unified, according to Mark Rogers, senior directory of secondary education with Bonita. Data for Charter Oak was not available.

Co-authored by Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), District of Choice extended the program while giving school districts the power to enter their district into the program.