Lovell schools see enrollment decline as smaller classes move through district

Coaching salary schedule sent back for review after omissions, inconsistencies found

Enrollment in Big Horn County School District No. 2 continues to trend downward, with Superintendent William Hiser telling trustees that the district has 663 K-12 students this fall, 19 fewer than a year ago.

“The trend has been a reduction in enrollment over the last five years,” Hiser said during the September school board meeting. “2024 was the only year that we gained, and that was after we had dropped 32 students the year before.”

The district had 731 K-12 students in September 2022, meaning enrollment has declined by 68 students, or about 9.3 percent, over four years.

Hiser cautioned that the current number can change as students enter or leave the district.

“We got a call on one today, and there’s a couple in the system,” he said. “So this number kind of fluctuates, but it’s not going to fluctuate much.”

The decline has not been evenly distributed among the district’s schools. Lovell High School has remained relatively stable over the four-year period, while Lovell Elementary and Lovell Middle School have experienced most of the decrease.

“It used to be the norm that most classes were in the 50s,” Hiser said. “But it’s been just a downward turn.”

Elementary enrollment

Lovell Elementary School had 308 students in kindergarten through fifth grade in September 2022, compared with 270 this fall, a decline of 38 students. That is a 12.3 percent reduction.

The change has not followed a straight line. Elementary enrollment climbed to 308 in 2024 before falling to 277 last year and 270 this fall.

Two particularly small classes are currently moving through the elementary school. First grade has 39 students, while second grade has only 36.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had two classes at the elementary in the 30s,” Hiser said.

The second-grade class also experienced a significant change since the end of the previous school year, falling from 44 students in May to 36 this fall.

There is a more encouraging number at the beginning of the district’s enrollment pipeline. Kindergarten has 51 students this year.

“We do have a strong kindergarten class,” Hiser said. “Hopefully, that trend continues, where we start to see more and more classes in the 50s.”

The other elementary classes include 45 third graders, 51 fourth graders and 48 fifth graders.

The district also serves 27 preschool students, but Hiser said those children are not included in the K-12 enrollment total because the district does not receive regular state funding for preschool. Instead, preschool is funded through TANF and Title I money.

The district also has enough Title I funding remaining to seek an additional intervention teacher for the elementary school, Hiser said. The certified position would focus on reading and math.

Middle school largest decline

Lovell Middle School has experienced the most sustained enrollment decrease.

LMS had 187 students in grades 6-8 in 2022. That number increased slightly to 189 in 2023 before falling to 174 in 2024, 162 last year and 160 this fall.

That represents a decrease of 27 students, or about 14.4 percent, since 2022.

The current middle school classes also vary considerably in size, with 50 sixth graders, 66 seventh graders and 44 eighth graders. The elementary numbers indicate those fluctuations will continue as classes move into LMS.

High school stable

Despite the districtwide decline, Lovell High School has remained relatively steady over the longer period.

LHS had 236 students in 2022 and has 233 this fall, a difference of just three students. Enrollment fell to 221 in 2023, rebounded to 233 in 2024 and reached 243 last year before returning to 233.

This year’s high school includes 59 freshmen, 71 sophomores, 53 juniors and 50 seniors.

“Last year, we graduated 60, but then we got 59 freshmen coming in,” Hiser said. “So the drop in high school didn’t have to do with the graduating class and incoming freshmen, because they’re about the same size.”

The next two classes illustrate how quickly the numbers can change. The current eighth grade, which will enter LHS next fall, has only 44 students, while seventh grade has 66.

Virtual and alternative options

The district is also hoping its virtual and alternative education programs can help retain students who might otherwise attend elsewhere.

Seven virtual academy students are already included in the high school enrollment total, Hiser said.

“Those are situations where that 19 could have easily been 26,” he said of the district’s overall enrollment decline.

The district has also contacted students who previously left, and one has returned. Hiser emphasized that the virtual and alternative programs are schools of choice and that district officials consider whether those settings are appropriate for individual students.

The alternative program combines traditional and online learning, while virtual academy students complete their coursework entirely online.

“We wanted them to kind of start out small, just so we can figure things out,” Hiser said of the new options.

For now, the numbers show markedly different class sizes moving through the district. A 51-student kindergarten class offers the possibility of some recovery, but the 36- and 39-student classes immediately ahead of it will continue to affect enrollment for years.

Coach salaries revisited

There is a small amount of hope for some coaches who felt slighted by reductions in coaching salaries announced two months ago. School District No. 2 eliminated indoor track, deeply cut the salary for the golf coach and reduced stipends for high school track and field, cross country, middle school coaches and some activity sponsors, with estimated savings of $25,000 to $30,000.

During Monday’s meeting, Hiser indicated that the salary schedule may need another look.

“We came back with the omission of one of our assistant coaches, and then just some inconsistencies in other parts. So that may need to be addressed,” he said.

The board unanimously directed the administration to review the coaching and sponsor salary schedule, address the omission and inconsistencies and bring a revised schedule back for consideration.

Facilities updates

Big Horn County School District No. 2 is paying $219 per camera annually for subscriptions on its 173-camera Verkada security system. That puts the annual subscription cost at $37,887.

“I was surprised. I didn’t realize it was that much,” Hiser said. Most of the cameras themselves were purchased using federal ESSER funding during the COVID era. When a board member asked whether there might be a way to reduce the annual subscription expense, Hiser agreed to research the options.

Hiser also updated the board on several building projects. The district plans to apply for replacement of much of the HVAC system at Lovell Elementary School. The kitchen and nearby main office would be excluded because that portion of the system is relatively new. Hiser said the older Carrier system serving the remainder of the building is “really hard to maintain” and approximately 26 years old.

At Lovell High School, the district hopes to have complete plans from Pryor Mountain Engineering for a new parking lot by the next board meeting. Preliminary plans identify parking spaces, sidewalks and lighting locations, but electrical and other details still need to be completed.

The district is also looking at repairs to benches and bleachers at the track that Hiser said are currently “not safe to use really.” If the metal framing remains sound, the project could primarily involve replacing the wood.

Work is also underway at Lovell Elementary, where Midway Construction resurfaced troublesome sidewalks, including areas on the Kansas Avenue side. Hiser described some as “super slick, no matter what was going on weather-wise.” More extensive reconstruction could be considered next year.

The district has also begun what Hiser described as a “storage purge,” targeting materials that in some cases have gone unused for decades. Buildings will be expected to justify why items need to be placed in storage, with usable materials potentially sold and unusable items discarded. The district is also exploring having Bret George’s construction class build a storage shed to provide additional storage space.