KUSD Reports Enrollment Decline in Third Friday Count for 2024-25 School Year

Kenosha, WI (WLIP)–The Kenosha Unified School District has finalized its Third Friday enrollment count, showing a total of 18,522 students, a decrease of 348 from last year’s count of 18,870.

This count, required by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction each September, helps determine the district’s state funding and tax revenue for the year.

In December 2023, KUSD had projected an enrollment of 18,546, expecting a decline of 324 students.

The district attributes the drop primarily to a declining birth rate in the KUSD boundary area, with approximately 500 fewer children born annually compared to a peak of 1,953 births in 2008.

The largest decreases in enrollment occurred in first grade (-96), fourth grade (-135), and ninth grade (-133), the latter linked to the economic downturn during the 2008-09 recession.