by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Declining enrollment is nothing new for Claremont Unified School District: it has been on the wane every year since 2018, falling 12% over that period.

According to data from the California Department of Education, the district has seen a steady drop in enrollment since 2018, when 7,075 students called CUSD home. In 2019, that number fell to 6,945, then to 6,868 in 2020, 6,744 in 2021, 6,616 in 2022, 6,386 in 2023, and 6,261 in 2024.

Fewer students means less money coming from the state to CUSD.

“Declining enrollment directly impacts Claremont Unified School District’s financial status, as state funding is largely based on average daily attendance,” wrote CUSD spokesperson Elaine Kong in an email. “With fewer students, CUSD receives less funding, while operational costs continue to rise due to inflation and other factors.”

The district has reduced five teacher positions through retirement and resignation over the past few years, with a similar reduction in classified staff, Kong said. It has thus far avoided layoffs.

“There have not been any discussions about laying off staff members due to the fiscal budget,” Kong wrote. “In previous years, we have avoided layoffs due to natural attrition of staff. At this time, we have not discussed any specific cuts to our current programs or extracurricular activities. We continue to evaluate our budget throughout the year and will make adjustments when necessary.”

Several factors have contributed to the decline.

“A significant contributor is the broader demographic trend of declining birth rates, which has led to fewer school-aged children,” Kong wrote. “Additionally, the rising cost of housing in Claremont has made it challenging for new families to move into the area, resulting in a smaller population of school-aged residents. Neighboring districts, as well as districts across California and the nation, are experiencing similar enrollment declines. This has led to fewer interdistrict transfer students being released to attend schools in Claremont.”

Statewide, California school enrollment has fallen by nearly 400,000, or 6%, over the past decade, with 6,236,672 students in 2013-14 compared to 5,837,690 in 2023-24.

Locally, Azusa Unified School District has experienced the sharpest decline in enrollment, falling 27% between 2017’s 8,782 students and 6,370 in 2024. Azusa’s enrollment numbers have been in decline since 2002, according to Superintendent Arturo Ortega, who cited a decreasing birth rate and increasing cost of living as primary factors.

In response, Azusa USD reorganized and consolidated in 2019, closing four elementary schools, repurposing one of its two high schools as a new middle school, closing its three existing middle schools and moving those students to the new middle school, and repurposing one of its shuttered elementary schools as an adult education center and continuation high school.

Results from Upland, Glendora, and Pomona districts indicate a similar trend.

Upland USD has seen an 11% drop between 2017 and 2024, with 11,028 students in 2017, 10,913 in 2018, 10,702 in 2019, 10,580 in 2020; 10,228 in 2021, 10,210 in 2022, 10,079 in 2023, and 9,806 in 2024.

Glendora has lost some 16% of its students over that period, going from 7,538 in 2017, to 7,444 in 2018, 7,198 in 2019, 7,116 in 2020, 6,833 in 2021, 6,671 in 2022, 6,525 in 2023, and 6,363 in 2024.

Massive Pomona USD, with 23,776 students in 2017, 23,115 in 2018, 22,473 in 2019,  21,983 in 2020, 21,454 in 2021, 20,865 in 2022, 20,078 in 2023, and 19,516 in 2024, has seen an 18% drop.

Only La Verne’s Bonita Unified School District seems to have escaped drastic reductions in enrollment. It did see a drop off from 10,245 students in 2017 to 9,669 in 2021, but, of those surveyed BUSD showed the smallest decrease overall between 2017 and 2024 at just 3%, with its numbers growing steadily in 2023 (9,943), and 2024 (9,957).

While CUSD has no mechanism for tracking how many new families choose private or home schooling, among students who begin their education in the district the rate of transfers to private schools has remained consistently low in recent years, Kong wrote, adding, “There has been a slight increase in students opting for online schooling since the COVID-19 pandemic, but these numbers are still relatively minimal.”

The Courier queried local private schools to gauge how they have been affected. The only response we received was from The Webb Schools, where enrollment has held steady at about 400 over the past several years, according to Head of School Theresa Smith.

Western Christian Schools Superintendent John Attwood declined to comment. Claremont’s Our Lady of the Assumption School did not respond to requests for comment.