SYRACUSE — Friday, Sept. 13, was the cutoff date for public school corporations to report enrollment numbers for the 2019-20 school year to the Indiana Department of Education.

Tentative numbers for the Wawasee Community School Corporation show a continued decline in enrollment that has been the trend for about the last 12 years. As of Sept. 13, Wawasee had 2,909 students enrolled, down from 2,956 a year ago and considerably down from the more than 3,400 enrolled during the 2006-07 school year.

Enrollment numbers are: 535 for Milford School (grades K through eight), 414 for North Webster Elementary, 504 for Syracuse Elementary, 523 for Wawasee Middle School and 933 for Wawasee High School. Each school has also had a steady decline in enrollment numbers with a few exceptions.

Some of the decline can possibly be attributed to students living in the Wawasee district but attending school in a different district, though there are also students living in other districts who attend a Wawasee school. But most of the decline is likely due to Wawasee students graduating and then not returning to the district to live and raise their families for various reasons, including the availability of jobs.

Dr. Tom Edington, superintendent of WCSC, has said repeatedly that rural or smaller school districts statewide are seeing a decline in enrollment. The population is shifting to the suburban school districts especially around Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend and also college cities.

There will be another enrollment count day in February.