As classes began last month, area schools confronted differing trends in student enrollment. North-county grade schools have lost students, while Boulder Elementary and Jefferson High continue to see gains.
At a Sept. 11 meeting of the Montana City School board, Superintendent Tony Kloker noted that 477 students were registered at the start of the year. That’s up from 455 a year ago — but Kloker noted that the increase was driven by out-of-district transfers and by the school’s new “Mini-Mustang” program for pre-kindergarten.
“Without those included,” Kloker said, “we would be down about 15 this year.”
Montana City’s core enrollment has declined steadily over the last five years; it was 505 in 2019-20, according to the Office of Public Instruction (OPI). Kloker told school trustees that changing demographics are driving the trend. “At the end of the day,” he said, “there’s not a lot of people moving into our community with children.”
Kloker also observed that lower numbers in the elementary school likely promise future declines in middle-school
enrollment within a few years. “It has an effect down the line,” he said. “The trend continues to be losing enrollment.”
Clancy Elementary School also saw a decline in enrollment, from 393 at the end of 2023-24 to 370 this year. In December, 2022, the school commissioned a study to examine options in anticipation of continuing enrollment increases. Superintendent Daryl Mikesell recently told the school board that enrollment remains under capacity, relieving the urgency for a facility expansion.
Boulder Elementary School, on the other hand, has seen a small surge in its enrollment. School Clerk Britton Mann said 230 students are enrolled this fall, up from 219 at the start of the 2023-24 school year. “I have been here for 15 years,” Mann said, “and that is the highest it has ever been during my time.” The school’s student population dropped to 156 as recently as the 2020-21 year, according to OPI data.
As expected, Jefferson High School started the year with its largest number of students in recent history. Its total of 306, bolstered by an entering freshman class of 95, is up from 297 last fall.
Jefferson High’s student population has soared by 50% since 2004, fueled by a steady increase of school-aged children in the county and by a growing enrollment — up to now — from north-county elementary schools. Those gains have driven an expanded campus, newly opened this school year, which administrators say can accommodate 360 students.
