Ely school officials knew a giant hit in enrollment was coming.
That tempered some of the surprise Monday, when a report at Ely’s regular school board meeting showed that the district had only 484 students enrolled in grades K-12.
The total is easily the smallest in better than 100 years of reporting, 41 students less than were enrolled this time a year ago and a whopping 114 fewer than just eight years ago in the fall of 2017.
But it’s a number that the district was prepping for, given enrollment at the end of the 2024-25 school year of 511, a 2025 graduating class that included 50 students and an incoming kindergarten class of just 24.
Those numbers all played a part in budget reductions made by the district in advance of the 2025-26 school year, based in part on enrollment losses and subsequent declines in revenue based on student population.
Responding to a question posed by board member Tom Omerza about the enrollment totals, superintendent Anne Oelke responded the number meshed with projections made last spring, when enrollment was at 511.
“It’s exactly where we are right now,” said Oelke. “With 50 seniors (graduating) and 24 kindergarteners.”
Oelke added that the numbers may yet fluctuate over the course of the next two weeks and said she’d have further information next month.
“I think in October I’ll have a better understanding of the whys,” said Oelke. “Where kids went and why they went.”
School officials keep a watchful eye on enrollment numbers, which are tied to state per pupil funding and the district’s financial health.
Another compounding factor is the impact of the post-secondary enrollment option program, which allows students to take courses at the Vermilion campus of Minnesota North College, and receive both high school and college credit simultaneously.
Numbers released Monday show that 16 of Ely’s 38 high school seniors, and 22 of 42 juniors are enrolled in the PSEO program.
That amounts to 38 total students and less revenue for the Ely district as well.
Enrollment in Ely has fallen precipitously through the decades, falling nearly in half from 921 in the fall of 1995 to 538 in 2009.
From 2010-17, student population slowly rebounded, climbing to 596 at the start of the 2017-18 school year.
A slight dip followed and the start of the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in further drops, to 531 at the start of the 2021-22 school year to as little as 504 the next month.
The district had recovered from those declines, even with a small kindergarten group arriving in the fall of 2023.
But since then Ely has seen another sharp decline, with larger graduating classes replaced by smaller incoming kindergarten groups.
School board members generally review enrollment numbers at the start of the school year, and Oelke provided the latest count during the monthly meeting.
The current totals show 306 students enrolled in the Memorial (Grades 6-12) building and another 178 in the Washington (K-5).
Only three of the 13 grade levels have at least 45 students, down from four last year and down from seven three years ago.
Ely’s largest classes are the 57-member ninth grade and the 53-member eighth grade.
Second grade, by contrast, is the smallest with 19 students enrolled and no elementary class reaches 40 students.
With enrollment ranging in the 500s for a least 18 years, it was an era of relative stability in enrollment after massive losses from the mid-1990s through 2009.
Those declines triggered financial woes, a reduction in staff and raised threats of statutory operating debt designation, which occurs when reserves fall into negative balance.
Since then, the district rebuilt its reserves.
Peak K-12 enrollment in Ely was in 1967, when the district reported enrollment of 1,775.
Enrollment last exceeded 1,500 in 1977 (1,502) and last topped 1,000 in 1985 (1,019).
The last year with 750 or more students was 2001 (758), and the last time the district had over 600 students was 2006 (609).
