Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District projects less enrollment for next two years; new programs initiated to grow enrollment

Projected numbers in a state-required financial report reviewed at a March meeting of the trustees of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District indicate a decline in average daily attendance will continue to impact local campuses for at least two more years.

To comply with state law, Superintendent Alex Cherniss submitted the second of two interim reports mandated by the state's education code that states the district can meet its financial obligations for the current and two subsequent school years despite the lower enrollment.

A key portion of the report contains an estimate that average daily attendance (ADA) will decline by 374 next year and another 374 the year after. This year's ADA is estimated at 21,228, dropping to 20,854 next year and 20,480 in two years.

Projected ADA decline by grade level: 210 over the next two years for kindergarten through third grade from 5,956 this year; 162 over the next two years for fourth through sixth grades from 4,611; 116 over the next two years for seventh and eighth grades from 3,271; and 260 over the next two years for grades nine through 12 from 7,388.

Less ADA means less revenue. The report lists nearly $397 million in revenue expected this year, $368 million next year and $367 million in two years. Expenses are expected to be just more than $415 million this year, $376 million next year and $378 million in two years.

In an effort to avoid the steep declines in ADA and resulting loss of revenue, Cherniss has outlined “a multi-faceted approach that will attract and retain families” so the district will be able to avoid closing schools, cutting student programs and eliminating teachers and staff.

His recent “Monday Message” to stakeholders describes three actions already underway.

One includes an investment in early education that involves opening preschools on existing elementary school campuses. This year's openings were at Bryant Ranch and Wagner and next year's openings will be at Glenview, Morse and Tynes.

A second involves creating a marketing team to advertise on social media and billboards as well as employ “boots-on-the-ground” visits to new housing developments to provide inform-ation about district schools.

Cherniss said, “When families move into our boundaries, we are doing everything we can to enroll them with us ASAP, rather than attending a local private school or alternative option.”

And the third involves providing specialized educational options, such as the Orange County School of Computer Science charter and the Universal Sports Institute that will attract “elite student-athletes throughout Southern California who wish to train and study independently.”

Cherniss noted that 126 more preschool, 259 more transitional kindergarten and kindergarten and 23 more first through 12th grade students have enrolled in the district so far this year over the 2023 numbers. The computer science charter expects 850 students.