Twenty years after the baby boom, U.S. population is falling and school enrollment is declining. Contrary to public expectations, smaller enrollment does not mean smaller school budgets, and balancing the educational budget will require cutting programs, closing schools, and reducing teacher force. The experience of the East Meadow (New York)…

Population growth in the United States has declined since the early 1970s. As a result of the lower birth rate and changing migration patterns, approximately one-third of the school districts in the country have experienced some drop in enrollment. Smaller districts are the hardest hit by enrollment decline, since they are less able to absorb the…

This guidebook for managing declining enrollment in an era of fiscal retrenchment is presented in three sections. Section 1 describes the extent of enrollment decline; analyzes its causes, including changes in birth rates, women's work roles, and migration and housing patterns; and explores its effects, including reduced school budgets and staffs,…