No big changes in student numbers in FUHSD

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

Enrollment at the three schools in the Fallbrook Union High School District has remained relatively constant the past several years. Trustees reviewed a report by Brenda Mefford, chief business officer for the district, at their Nov. 7 board meeting.

Her slide presentation showed current enrollment at Fallbrook High School was 1,924, compared to 1,959 in 2021-2022 and 1,964 in 2020-2021. Going back to the prior five years, attendance ranged from 1,985 in 2019-2020 to 2,050 in 2016-2017. There was a slight decrease in all but two school years.

The other two schools in the district showed little variation. The continuation school, Ivy High School, has 103 students this year and the previous two years had 100 and 101, respectively. The numbers varied greatly from 2019-2020 (85) to 2016-2017 (130).

Oasis High School, the homeschool program, currently has 66 students, the same as the previous year. The numbers were in the low 80s in the five years prior to 2021-2022.

The number of NPS (nonpublic school) students was three in each of the past two school years. That number ranged from zero in 2018-2019 to six in 2021-2022. These are home school students in the district not affiliated with any school.

Mefford also shared Average Daily Attendance (ADA) comparisons for the district projected at 1,970 students for this year. The previous year, the total was 1,979. The highest total in the seven years was 2,125 in 2016-2017. ADA is what is used to figure state funding.

The number of students transferring in from other school districts has fallen from a high of 84 in 2016-2017 to 35 this school year, through Oct. 24. The number declined each year with one exception.

Bonsall High School, which opened in 2014, accounted for the most transfers in each year. That number is 27 so far this year, compared to highs of 59 in both 2019-2020 and 2016-2017, the first year of this report.

There have been more students transferring out than transferring in each of the last six years, and this year, except in 2019-2020. The figure for this year is 75 transfers out so far, compared to 101 in 2021-2022. The highest figure for transfers in the seven-year period is 124 in 2016-2017.

The most popular school district for students to transfer to was Vista in each year from 2022-2023 to 2019-2020. In the previous three years, most of the transfer outs were to Bonsall High School.

Toone told the board that expectations were for a slight increase in enrollment next year.

The board received the report and had no comments.