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Effects of the Revenue
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Relationship Between the Number of Cost-Cutting Measures and Changes in Student Enrollment
Over the past several years, superintendents from districts with stable or decreasing student populations have been most critical of the revenue caps. In contrast, superintendents from districts in which the student population is increasing have tended to report fewer cuts in programs or services. The data collected in 1997-98 again show that districts with declining enrollments are affected most by the revenue caps. However, the differences among districts based on enrollment trends are not as dramatic as they were in previous years.(13) The data collected in this study do not explain why these differences are smaller than in prior years.
As shown in Table 2, the 31 districts which had a decrease in student population over the previous three year period report between 6 and 7 cuts (mean = 7.3, median = 6). Districts with increasing student populations report between 5 and 6 cuts.
| Number
of Cost-Cutting Actions and Change in Fund Balance,
Related to the Changes in Student Population 1997-98 * |
|||||
Change in Student Population |
Number of Districts |
No. of Cost-Cutting Measures in 1997-98
Mean Median |
Change in Fund Balance Mean Median |
||
| Decrease in Population | 31 | 7.3 | 6 | -4.5% | -1.7% |
| Up to 2.99% increase | 172 | 5.6 | 5 | -2.3% | -1.1% |
| 3% increase or More | 93 | 5.3 | 5 | -2.6% | -1.3% |
| *Change in student enrollment reported as a three-year average. | |||||
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