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To be meaningful one would have to take census every year, compare it to actual enrollment, and then develop a time series algorithm. Difficult to do with volunteers.

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I know when my daughter was in elementary school, parents were asked at the end of each school year if their child would be returning in the fall. But in these trying times, how many of us may not be able to say for certain whether our children will be here or living elsewhere in 3 months time? And while this may give a school some idea of future enrollment, it doesn’t account for new students arriving.

At McGrath Elementary in the Newhall district the student population is particularly “fluid” due to the fact that the majority are economically disadvantaged and their parents non-English speaking immigrant workers. Students move in and out of that school’s boundaries constantly. And even though the school year starts at McGrath during August, many students do not show up until after Labor Day. I can’t imagine how a meaningful census would be carried out for schools like that.

It was not so long ago that the schools in Santa Clarita were operating on year-round tracts due to the rapid increase in new housing developments. Parents were on the warpath, pressuring districts to get new schools built. Coordinating schedules for parents with children in elementary school and teens in high school was a nightmare. Times have certainly changed . . .

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Don’t know if they are included in the head count.

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