INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – Regional patterns have emerged as enrollment in California’s public schools has fallen for the sixth straight year.

School districts along the coast, have seen the biggest losses while some inland areas have seen growth.

The California Department of Education and the Department of Finance report that greater Los Angeles experienced the steepest decline of any region since 2012 at 15 percent. In contrast, the Inland Empire was down by only 2 percent.

Projections indicate that the trend will remain fairly stable, with a decline of 3.8% in the IE until 2031.

LA area schools could see enrollment plunge by 15 percent, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

Continued losses may cause more difficulties amplifying pressures to close schools and find other cost-saving measures, the PPIC said. It warns that state funding could be redistributed from inland to coastal regions where declines are expected to be larger.

Story Date: June 5, 2023