ST. CLOUD -- Enrollment is down overall at schools in St. Cloud this year, but still fluctuating.

The 2020 St. Cloud Area School District enrollment report was presented to the board at Wednesday night’s meeting.

The district says though it's mostly speculation, they believe the drop in enrollment is largely due to COVID-19, with students and families opting to go with homeschool, online, or private school alternatives.

Executive Director of Finance and Business Services Amy Skaalerud says the numbers are still changing and expected to continue to do so.

It's really fluctuating every day, and I suspect that as various schools, whether that be public or private, where some of the students may have gone to change or potentially have changes in learning models we may see more so than in previous years a lot of fluctuation in and out throughout the year.

Skaalerud says 37 percent of the overall decrease falls into the early childhood category. The largest single-school drop happened at Kennedy Community School with a decrease of 127 students.

Current enrollment districtwide is below 10,000 students for the first time since 2016.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Take a Hike at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park

More From AM 1240 WJON