Updated Tri City School Withdrawals, KSD Releases Community Report

The Kennewick School District has released it's Community Report, a in depth look at what's happening in the District. Budgets, new construction, educators, students and more.

The report contains some but not a lot of in depth information about it's new District Equity Team. It consists of 45 educators, parents, students and other "community" members; apparently tasked with examining all aspects of the District for equity issues when it comes to education. Given all the 'interesting' legislation coming out of Olympia and programs from the OSPI, this is worth keeping an eye on. You can find more information about this team by clicking here. 

The KSD Community Report also contains an updated figure for student numbers. Kennewick has been growing steadily, usually the District sees anywhere from 90 to 110 or more new students each year. But after increases of 97 and 137 in 2018-19, and 2019-20, the District reported 541 FEWER students for the 2020-21 school year.

Many of these are due to COVID related closure transfers. Students opting for private schools, home schooling, and a few transfering to other Districts.

When you add that to the 2020-2021 totals released by Richland and Pasco so far, there are 1,216 fewer students in these three Districts. That may not seem like a lot when you consider the three Districts have over 40K students combined.

But it shows a definite trend. For the better part of a decade, all 3 showed positive number growth through all grade levels.

Pasco  had 137 transfers, and 189 home school withdrawals.  Richland reported in 2019-20 they had 251 official withdrawals, for 2020-2021 that number so far as been 620.

These numbers we have provided are not up to the minute exact totals, they are expected to be actually be higher due to continued dis-enrollment by parents during the winter; pursuing other options.

Pasco, according to officials we reached out to, will have updated enrollment figures probably March as they prepare for the 2021-22 school year.