Fewer Students, More Staff: What Kansas School Districts’ Numbers Reveal
Key Takeaways
Kansas public school enrollment has declined by nearly 23,000 students since 2019.
During that same period, school districts added more than 5,000 employees.
According to an analysis by the Kansas Policy Institute (KPI) using Kansas State Department of Education data, the state has 569 fewer teachers but nearly 5,900 more non-teaching employees than it did in 2019.
Because Kansas school funding is tied largely to enrollment, districts with fewer students may face increasing budget pressure if staffing continues to grow.
The data raise important questions but do not, by themselves, explain why staffing has increased or whether those additional positions have improved student outcomes.
Why It Matters
School districts across Kansas are warning of budget deficits and difficult financial decisions. Declining enrollment is often cited as the primary cause, but staffing trends suggest the picture may be more complex. Understanding these trends can help taxpayers, parents, and school board members ask informed questions about how education dollars are being spent.
The Story
A recent analysis by the Kansas Policy Institute examined statewide enrollment and employment trends using data from the Kansas State Department of Education.
The analysis found that Kansas public school enrollment has declined during each of the past three school years. Since the 2019 school year, the state has nearly 23,000 fewer full-time equivalent students.
At the same time, school districts have added more than 5,000 employees.
Perhaps the most surprising finding is that the increase has not been in classroom teachers. According to KPI’s analysis, Kansas employs approximately 569 fewer teachers than it did in 2019, while non-teaching positions have grown by nearly 5,900.
The trend is not uniform across the state.
Enrollment increased in only 22 of Kansas’s 105 counties during that period. The state’s largest counties—including Johnson, Sedgwick, Wyandotte, Douglas, and Shawnee—all experienced enrollment declines.
Several counties with significant enrollment losses also reported substantial employment growth. KPI cites Wallace County as one example, where enrollment declined by roughly 20 percent while employment increased by about 50 percent. Similar patterns were reported in Bourbon, Chautauqua, Scott, Graham, Edwards, Cloud, and Lyon counties.
The county-level data combine multiple school districts, so individual districts may have different circumstances. Additional staff could include paraprofessionals, counselors, nurses, special education personnel, transportation employees, or other positions created to meet changing student needs or state and federal requirements.
The data do not determine whether those staffing increases were necessary or effective. They do, however, highlight a trend that may contribute to budget challenges when enrollment-based funding declines.
Marc Woofter, Project Lead for KPI’s Kansas School Board Resource Center and a retired Kansas superintendent, argues that districts should first look for operational efficiencies before reducing classroom services. He points to health insurance audits, energy efficiency improvements, and transportation reviews as examples of changes that can reduce costs without affecting instruction.
Woofter also encourages districts experiencing enrollment declines to examine why families are leaving and whether improvements in academic performance or school offerings could attract more students, particularly under Kansas’s open enrollment law.
Looking Ahead
As school boards prepare future budgets, they will face difficult choices about staffing, facilities, and spending priorities. The statewide data suggest that declining enrollment is only one part of the financial picture. Understanding how staffing has changed—and why—will likely become an increasingly important part of the conversation.
My Perspective
One possible way to reduce costs without affecting classroom instruction is for neighboring school districts to share certain administrative services, such as human resources, information technology, purchasing, or payroll. Not every district is a good candidate, but as budgets become tighter, exploring shared services seems like a practical, nonpartisan way to improve efficiency while keeping the focus where it belongs—on students.
Terms to Know
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Enrollment: A standardized way of counting students for school funding purposes.
Open Enrollment: A Kansas law allowing students to attend a public school district other than the one in which they reside if space is available.
Further Reading
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