SJSD’s declining enrollment reflects long-term county trend
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- The St. Joseph School District’s official enrollment for the 2026-27 school year is down from last year.
The official count date for school enrollment is the last Wednesday of September.
For the 2026–2027 school year, there are 9,755 students in total from Pre-K through 12th grade. If we exclude Pre-K and look only at K–12, the total is 9,312 students.
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Robert Hedgecorth said the drop has been a trend for nearly 25 years, and he explained some of the reasons behind it.
“Our county has declining birth rates, and so as you have newer classes coming in — or newer cohort groups coming into kindergarten classes — that are lower than previous years, which continues to bring a trend,” Hedgecorth said.
Hedgecorth also pointed out that students have different educational goals. Some may choose to graduate early, while others may decide to homeschool or attend a private school. Those choices can also contribute to declining enrollment.
He said the district would need to reach out individually to each student or family who left the district this year to determine whether the changes to the long-range plan played a direct role in their decision to leave.
“I don't have that information specifically. I would be naive to think that there weren’t some that maybe that was the reason,” he said.
He also noted that, when looking at the number of students who have left compared to other districts, the district is seeing a similar percentage to its neighboring districts.
Hedgecorth said there was nothing “way above and beyond normal” when it comes to the district’s enrollment changes.
“We have 9,755 kids pre-K through 12 that are here that we are focused on so we don’t want anybody to leave the district and we also have people who move into the district everyday,” he added.
Hedgecorth said the district’s job is to make sure it is doing everything it can for the students who are currently enrolled.
He also pointed out that enrollment numbers can fluctuate slightly from day to day.
“Because everyday you might have families moving into the area, you have families like military or other job reasons where they may be relocating to different areas,” Hedgecorth said.
Students graduating early after earning enough credits can also contribute to changes in enrollment numbers.
The district’s updated enrollment numbers are not currently available online but are expected to be made public following the upcoming October Board of Education meeting on Oct. 26.
