New Mexico school enrollment flat even though kids in class

By CEDAR ATTANASIO
Associated Press / Report for America

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Classrooms are open and children are back in school, but New Mexico’s enrollment woes are far from over. The Public Education Department said Friday that fall enrollment is flat. With schools primarily in remote learning last year, thousands of families pulled their kids out of school or delayed enrolling them. Data indicates that fewer students are homeschooling than last year but that more are homeschooling than before the pandemic. K-12 public school enrollment dropped 4% during the pandemic. That prompted a decrease in public school funding. In Albuquerque, the drop led to a $35 million deficit this year.