Districts across the Twin Cities say the surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this year contributed to drops in enrollment.

“We are definitely down,” said District 191 communications director Aaron Tinklenberg.

District 191, which stretches across Burnsville, Eagan and Savage, has lost 200 students since last year, which leaders attribute to Operation Metro Surge as well as a drop in birth rates. The loss of students has not affected the district’s budget, as leaders there say they anticipated a drop in enrollment following the surge.

But not every district will be able to avoid financial loss. Minnesota schools receive funding based on the number of students enrolled, so a drop in enrollment means more than just empty classroom chairs. It also impacts district finances.

In St. Paul, Minnesota’s second-largest district, more than 540 fewer English language learner students are in classes this year than anticipated. Superintendent Stacie Stanley said the loss will cost the district nearly $5 million. The change will also likely mean staffing cuts, including the loss of those dedicated to teaching English language learners.

“Operation Metro Surge, changes in immigration, and fewer new families settling in our community are among the circumstances reflected in our enrollment,” Stanley wrote in a letter sent to district families this week. “Many of the students who are no longer enrolled with us are English language learners.

“Behind every enrollment number is a student, a family, a teacher and a school community. We deeply miss the students and families who are no longer in our classrooms. Their absence is felt in our schools and throughout our community,” Stanley added.

In North St. Paul, enrollment losses are similar. That district has lost 141 students, most of whom are English language learners.

In Columbia Heights, where several students were taken by ICE agents on their way to or from school, 175 fewer students are enrolled this year. Superintendent Zena Stenvik said that loss is a blow to the community and will also mean a loss of $2.5 million to the school budget.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has sharply slowed immigration nationwide. Stenvik said Columbia Heights is seeing fewer new students arrive to offset those who leave.

“Every year we experience student mobility,” Stenvik told MPR News. “What is different this year is that with immigration halted at the federal level, we are not seeing the enrollment replenished like we have in recent years.”

Other districts say the impact from the surge is not as steep as expected.

In the Mounds View school district, enrollment is down by 100 students, but district leaders say the majority of that drop is in kindergarten and likely due to demographic trends.

“We consider this a stable level of enrollment overall,” district spokesperson Colin Sokolowski said.

In Fridley, another district hard hit by Operation Metro Surge, school leaders say enrollment has actually increased by 12 students compared to last year.

Superintendent Brenda Lewis, however, noted that traditional enrollment in middle and high school has actually fallen in Fridley and increases are likely due to the newly opened online academy and VISTA autism program.

“Operation Metro Surge had a very real impact on our school community. We experienced students leaving during that period and families shared the fear and uncertainty they were experiencing,” Lewis said.

“Those experiences cannot be measured by enrollment numbers alone,” Lewis added.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.