GOSHEN COUNTY – During his monthly Goshen County School District (GCSD) Superintendent’s report to board members and the public, Ryan Kramer said although the district is showing a loss of five students, he attributes to absences, the district enrollment remains higher than it had been during the pandemic enrollment and near pre-pandemic numbers for the same time period.

Currently, the district has roughly 1,635 students enrolled in its schools – of which, Kramer said “is pretty stable at this moment.”

According to the report Kramer shared with the board and the enrollment data he shared with the Telegram, GCSD is down roughly 16 students from its 2019 high of 1,651 enrolled students.

During 2020 and 2021, the district experienced a drop in enrollment to 1,580 in 2020 and 1,565 in 2021 for the same time period.

Kramer explained to board members and members of the public during the meeting these numbers are based on average daily attendance and are the numbers used by the state and federal entities that provide funding to public K-12 institutions, as schools are funded per pupil and based on achievement.

Kramer announced to board members the district is seeking applicants for the Goshen County Recreation Board vacancy; GCSD boardmembers Dylan Hagar and Carlos Saucedo are members of that board and are seeking ways to utilize the 1-mil tax levy, which passed earlier in 2022.

Lastly, Kramer explained to board members and members of the public, the district is seeking to review school attendance boundaries, considering new building areas, an addition of more residents and various needs he has heard expressed by parents and guardians in the district.

However, Kramer said he isn’t looking to make drastic changes due to stable enrollment numbers at each of the district’s schools, but wanted the board to consider reviewing current boundaries to better accommodate the various communities. He did not go into detail about what those concerns might be.

Prior to Tuesday’s regularly scheduled board meeting, while board members were in executive session, the superintendent went into more detail with the Telegram as it relates to the improving school lunch balances in the district. Kramer also provided the Telegram with the district data regarding school lunch balances.

According to the district data, fewer students districtwide are carrying higher school lunch balances forward; however, more students are carrying smaller balances forward and are slightly higher than balances from 2019. Due to COVID-19 grant funding; districts, families and students were not required to pay for school lunches during the pandemic in 2020 or 2021. The 2022-2023 school year is the first year since the pandemic began where families were required to pay for school lunch again.

Kramer said he remains optimistic this is a good sign to see lower balances per student and believes the district in partnership with the GCSD Board of Trustees and state can further bring these balances down through various programs and funding.

In 2019, the total district school lunch balance forward for the same time period was $4,332.01, of which 146 students carried balances less than $25, accounting for 9% of the total student body population in the district; 22 students carried balances between $26 to $50, or 1% of the student body population; 19 students had balances forward of $51 to $100 dollars, or 1% of students; three students carried forward $100 to $150 dollars; and five students carried balances over $150. The total number of students carrying school lunch balances forward in 2019 accounted for 12% of the total student body population during the same time period; of which the district had 1,641 students enrolled at the time.

In 2022, for the same time period, 99 students had a school lunch balance of $25 or less, accounting for 6.1% of the total student body population; 16 students carried balances of $26 to $50; 19 students carried balances of $51 to $100; 12 students carried balances of $100 to $150; and seven students carried balances over $150. For 2022, of the 1,616 students enrolled during the same time period, 152 students are carrying a school lunch balance, making up 9.5% of the total student body population in GCSD.

The next regularly scheduled GCSD Board of Trustees meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, at 7 p.m. at Central Administration.