Fewer students, too many schools: Communities confront closures and consolidations

By: Robbie Sequeira

Outlets: Stateline

Published: September 15, 2026

Words: 1,924

Last Updated: 3 days, 2 hours ago

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Declining birth rates mean fewer students.

And that means more districts grappling with whether to close or merge schools.

“The big shrink” is how Marguerite Roza, director of Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab, described what is happening nationally.

“When there are fewer young people, obviously it’s going to change the shape of public education,” Roza said. “As more and more schools are existing that are half empty, some downsizing needs to take place for them …

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