Michigan's rural schools are shrinking, but remain critical for communities

The high school bands are quieter. Advanced Placement classes might be harder to come by. And in many rural school buildings across Michigan, hallways simply don't have as many students.

The number of students enrolled Michigan's rural public schools has declined by 11% in the past decade, according to an analysis of school enrollment by the Detroit Free Press. Overall, Michigan public school PK-12 enrollment has declined by 9% between the 2013-14 and 2023-24 school years, according to state data.

Rural school leaders and parents said shrinking schools mirror shrinking communities, following a longtime national trend of rural population decline and a decline in birth rates .

"For most of rural Michigan as a whole, it's losing population, it's getting older, and it's getting poorer and and so it's falling behind," said David Arsen, a professor of education at Michigan State University. Arsen and a team of researchers published a report in 2022 examining the challenges and funding gaps faced by the state's rural public schools. And as rural students miss out on opportunities other young Michiganders can access, communities suffer economically, Arsen said.

"Rural Michigan is falling behind in employment growth and income growth," he said.

Many find charm in living in rural communities, and parents like Liz Scott, of Ortonville, a small community in northern Oakland County, said her family loves the feel and familiarity of a small school. It's why Scott moved with her four children from Royal Oak to Ortonville as a single mom and enrolled them in the Brandon School District.

"I just always wanted to live out in the country," she said.

Rural population decline, school funding gaps

Population decline in Michigan is a statewide concern. Researchers have noted a pattern of decline concentrated in the Thumb, lower northeastern and Upper Peninsula regions of the state.

The Free Press examined enrollment data for the 2013-14 and 2023-24 school years from the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information, specifically changes in districts categorized as rural in state data. More than 35 of the 330 school districts and charter schools in the analysis lost a quarter or more of their 2013-14 student population, while 184 lost 10% or more.

The Britton Deerfield School District in Lenawee County in the very southeast corner of the state, for example, has seen enrollment decrease from 754 students in the 2013-14 school year to 377 in the 2023-24 school year.

Not all have a smaller student body. In about 80 rural districts and charter schools, the student population has grown. Byron Center Public Schools outside of Grand Rapids has seen its population increase from 3,751 to 4,512 students in a decade.

Still, enrollment decline is more common than enrollment increases.

Blake Prewitt is the superintendent of the Newaygo County Regional Educational Service Agency, which oversees multiple districts on the west side of the state. Enrollment decline is particularly tricky for rural school leaders who can't necessarily shut down buildings and also may struggle to get voters to approve extra property tax funding through school bonds, he said.

Take Hesperia Community Schools in Newaygo, Prewitt said, which has seen a 26% decline in students over the past decade, according to the state data. Hesperia operates its elementary, middle and high school, about 800 students total, in the same building.

"As they lose students, there's no way they can close that building," he said. "It's in one building. So you're always going to have the same overhead cost."

David Ehlers, superintendent of Coloma Community Schools on the west edge of the state, said rural superintendents understand that enrollment decline sometimes means they can't hire a new teacher when an old one leaves, to keep the district at a staffing level that's within budget, while maintaining optimal class sizes.

"You've got to be willing to make hard decisions and right size your staffing to fit your needs," he said.

Arsen's study into rural schools found that many Michigan rural schools face similar challenges: recruiting and retaining teachers amid a shortage, serving students with mental health needs, broadband access that extends to student homes, funding and fulfilling state reporting requirements, which can feel onerous for districts with small staffs.

Strengthening these schools, he argues, would benefit everyone.

"They are one of the largest, if not the largest, employer in every rural school district, and they're providing a significant source of relatively stable jobs for those with and without college degrees," he said. "And, of course, they prepare young people for critically important jobs in a prosperous local economy."

Overall, the report recommended the state adopt policies that are more friendly to rural districts, such as dedicated transportation funding that recognizes that rural students tend to ride the bus longer and more often to get to school.

Some of those problems have caught attention from state leaders: In the last state budget , lawmakers included $125 million to help districts with transportation costs and allocated $15 million for a program that would help support prospective educators in rural communities.

Life in a rural school community

In Ortonville, Scott has one child in the Brandon High School marching band, which has shrunk from what she estimated to be about 150 students to 50 students before the coronavirus pandemic kicked off more enrollment decline. The band director does a good job of balancing the sound, but there is a difference, she's noticed. The area is served by the Brandon School District, attended by 2,118 students in the 2023-24 school year and 2,998 in the 2013-14 school year.

Scott is a Realtor and said because properties in the area are so large, they tend to cost more than some families can afford. And there's a large community of homeschooling families, she said.

Scott lives on a farm she bought after getting divorced with her four children, her new husband and two stepchildren. They have a little farm stand where they sell sourdough bread, cookies and other goodies. She loves how involved she can be with her kids' education in a small district, volunteering at all the schools her children attend and joining the band booster club.

"I have a great rapport with the teachers and the staff at the school and I'm there all the time," she said. "They joke I should just get a desk and work there."

Andrea Austin, with two students in the Brandon School District and another child who graduated in the spring, also said she loves how much she gets to volunteer in different school groups. And she likes that smaller schools overall can lead to more opportunities for the kids.

"When you think your average basketball team has 11,12 players, and if there's 800 kids in just a grade, your opportunity to play is very small," she said. "So those types of opportunities are incredible."

But, echoing Scott, she said the cost of property deters a lot of young families in the area.

"If you're a first timer in Royal Oak you can get a little home ... and that's a more affordable piece of property in a neighborhood," she said. "We don't have a lot of that in Brandon."

In talking to rural school leaders, Arsen said it was evident how foundational public schools are in rural communities in particular.

"The superintendents are like mayors in these communities," Arsen said. "They're in touch with everybody... the families, the businesses, they work with them. They're deeply ingrained. Oftentimes, the school leaders are from that community, and folks feel like … they're just powerfully important."

Contact Lily Altavena: laltavena@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's rural schools are shrinking, but remain critical for communities