Where Did They Go? MNPS Enrollment Crashes, Budget Imperiled

NASHVILLE, TN -- It's repeated so much, it's become more hackneyed cliche than article of faith: 100 people move to the Nashville area every day.

It's not wholly true - it's actually more like 72 people a day, with 28 added in the net difference between daily births and deaths - but it's fact that the Midstate is booming in general and Davidson County is growing at a near-record pace.

So forgive Metro Nashville Public Schools for anticipating 2 percent growth in 2017, with the budget built expecting 1,500 additional students. That 2 percent, after all, parallels the city's broader growth.

Here's the problem: the district actually shrunk by 500 students and since state funding - significant sources of education dollars - are divvied on a per-student basis, the district is now planning for a budget $7.5 million smaller than originally expected.

In a letter to MNPS employees, Director of Schools Shawn Joseph said the district has some tough choices ahead not just for the rest of the ongoing fiscal year, but going forward.

A hiring freeze is already on and travel is being significant curtailed. Meanwhile, the schools with the biggest enrollment drops could lose as many as 17 positions in the 2018-19 school year.

The board of education will review the numbers at a meeting Tuesday, where school officials may offer answers on why, exactly, schools are shrinking.

Metro Councilmen Bob Mendes and Fabian Bedne speculated about the reasons:

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