South Bend schools sees potential loss of 825 students

Preliminary data for this school year shows the district, for funding purposes, has lost as many as 825 students.

An aging population within its boundaries coupled with hundreds of students leaving the district by way of vouchers and open enrollment each year has put considerable pressure in recent years on South Bend’s enrollment.

Additionally, a new kindergarten through fourth-grade charter school, Success Academy, opened in South Bend this year, enrolling 456 students at last count.

Jerome McKibben, a Rockhill, S.C.-based demographer who has worked for South Bend-area school corporations, said, “If you’re losing 800 kids a year, you’re eventually going to have to look at two things: closing buildings and redistricting, both of which are about as warmly welcomed as a root canal.”

School board President Jay Caponigro said South Bend officials have no immediate plans for doing either.