Why Are Madison Schools Losing Students?

Despite being the fastest growing large community in Wisconsin the Madison public school system is losing students. Last year the district lost almost 900 students. Why?

In a story in Isthmus last week long-time school board member Nicki Vander Meulen mused on the causes for the loss of market share to private schools and neighboring districts. She offered three theories: Madison has older facilities, larger schools are off-putting to parents, especially after COVID, and some schools in other districts are just closer to students’ homes.

Those are all plausible answers, but none of them are slam dunks and both Vander Meulen and the Isthmus reporter avoided the elephant in the classroom.

Let’s start with Vander Meulen’s theories.

It’s true that some Madison school buildings are going on a century old. But a couple of years ago voters approved a massive building referendum. All the high schools are getting big makeovers, most of the other schools are getting some upgrades and a brand spanking new elementary school has just opened. Those projects are either done or well underway and the results are visible and positive. If the building age argument ever had much juice it’s being squeezed out as we speak.

The size of the student population issue also could be real. But the decline started before COVID. Madison’s numbers are 7% lower since 2013 in a city that has grown at a steady clip of about 1.1% a year.

Vander Meulen’s last idea is the least convincing. Parents certainly might be choosing schools that are closer to their homes but in another district. But you would expect that to be a wash in the overall numbers because parents in neighboring districts would be picking Madison schools for the same reason.

So, again, let’s not totally discount any of the reasons Vander Meulen offered. Any of them could explain some of the loss, but what struck me is how she avoided talking about — and apparently the reporter avoided asking about — an obvious possibility: the policies of the board she sits on.

Melees outside of high schools, removing cops from high schools at a time of increased school shootings nationally, kids bringing guns to school, the effort to eliminate stand alone honors classes, a Behavioral Education Plan that emphasizes social justice over good order and safety, a school sponsored drag show, a school board member who says that schools are the product of white supremacy, an enduring racial achievement gap, etc., etc.

It’s telling that the same percentages of white and Black families are leaving the district. That suggests that this isn’t racially motivated. It may be motivated by parents who want their kids to go to a safe, well-ordered school where their kids can learn.

On the other hand, the decline started before this current board took the district on a sharp turn to the left. So, to blame everything on them would also be unfair, but I certainly believe it is playing a role. And the BEP, which could be the biggest factor, dates back almost a decade.

Losing students is bad for the budget because thousands of dollars in state aid follows each kid. But it’s bad for education in the district when parents quietly give up on the Madison schools.

Maybe this has something to do with buildings, geography and COVID, but it more likely has something more to do with the policies of Vander Meulen and her colleagues on the board. In any event, she was right when she told Isthmus, “When we lose students, it’s never OK.”