Enrollment decline costs WUESD

Decreased enrollment has left the Wasco Union Elementary Union School District with about $170,000 less than they expected to have available this school year.

Chief Business Officer Karen Davis discussed the 2nd interim budget with the WUESD board Tuesday night, noting that the budget is coming in at $14,159,370, $169,691 less than the first interim budget showed in October.

The ending fund balance for the 1st interim budget was $14,329,061.

Superintendent Kelly Richers said that enrollment is decreasing for the following reasons: 1) Many farms have planted crops such as almonds that require fewer workers; 2) there is less work for immigrant labor; 3) the border is much harder to cross for those seeking work; and 4) students have been lost to charter schools.

In additional board business, the district presented the Local Control and Accountability Plan, which included the ethnic breakdown of the students in the district.

--African American 1.79%

--Asian 0.61%

--Filipino 0.06%

--Hispanic/Latino 94.51%

--White (not Hispanic) 2.7%

--Multiracial 0.08%

Also, the board packet had a breakdown of the 1,646 students in the district, by school:

--Clemens, 598

--Prueitt, 617

--Forrest, 631

--Burke, 613

--TJ, 564

--Palm Avenue, 615

The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 14, in the district office boardroom.