Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah schools face declining enrollment, impacting communities and leading to closures.
- Granite School District closed 10 schools in seven years; enrollment may drop 10%.
- Economic pressures and fewer large families contribute to the enrollment decline in Utah.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Alpine School Board voted this week to close Cedar Valley Elementary School. It is one of many in recent months at risk of closing due to a growing trend across Utah of declining enrollment.
Granite School District has closed 10 schools in the past seven years. Just last month, the district paused plans to close two more. Leaders project enrollment will drop an additional 10% in the next two years.
"That's going to impact our schools and that's totally outside our ability to control," said Granite School District Superintendent Ben Horsley.
A statewide shift
Granite isn't alone. Washington and Salt Lake school districts are also seeing rapid enrollment declines. In fact, every district in Utah has seen a drop — except Beaver and Tooele.
"We seem to be exiting from the constant growth or the constant struggle to deal with the pressures of growth to … this decline that we're seeing here," said Aaron Brough, director of data and statistics at the Utah Board of Education.
From boom to bust
To understand the shift, look back just 10 years. Herriman High once topped 3,000 students, with projections to exceed 4,700. They said at the time, they would require 85 portable classrooms, which if stacked together would exceed the Empire State Building.
Now, enrollment has plummeted, influenced by the pandemic, and hasn't rebounded.
There are a few drivers for the decline. Utah, once among the highest birth rates in the nation, now ranks 10th.
"We just do not have as many large families as we traditionally have seen in the past," Brough said.
Economic pressures and housing costs make it harder for young couples to have big families. And while Utah's housing market is booming, new apartments and condos rarely attract families with school-age children.
The state has also seen more families move to a growing number of charter schools.
Financial fallout
Declining enrollment means districts lose millions in state revenue, even as operating costs remain the same.
"Those are very difficult decisions," Horsley said. "There's a lot of memories packed into the bricks of every one of those schools."
State leaders acknowledge more communities will face this struggle. Teachers worry about job security, and families fear losing their neighborhood schools.
"It's not the district's responsibility to ensure families are growing at a rate to sustain schools," Horsley added. "We're here to sustain our families."
