The Iola school district is showing signs of recovering from last year’s enrollment decline, with preliminary numbers projecting an increase of 34 students for the 2026-27 school year.
That projected growth was welcome news for the USD 257 Board of Education, which heard Superintendent Stacey Fager give an update on the enrollment outlook. “It is some of the best news I’ve been able to share with the board in some time,” said Fager.
The district’s official enrollment count has not yet been finalized. Kansas’ Sept. 20 count date falls on a Sunday this year, so the actual count will be taken Monday, Sept. 21.
Fager said the district is hopeful the final numbers will remain close to the current projection. The enrollment information presented to the board compared projected and audited numbers from the past two years. Audited enrollment incorporates various state weightings and can result in adjustments of a few students.
“This is definitely going in the right direction as far as getting back to where we were a couple of years ago since we lost some students,” Fager said.
At Iola Elementary School, enrollment was 615 students during the 2025-26 school year and is estimated at 624students this year. Iola Middle School had 215 students last year and is estimated to have 240 this year. Iola High School enrollment is projected to remain steady at 302 students, matching its 2025-26 enrollment.
FOR THE district, however, the goal is not simply to increase enrollment but to establish consistency from year to year.
“I think the biggest part for budgeting and the goal of the board is stability,” Fager said. “And not seeing the highs and lows from one year to the next, but if we can maintain a consistent headcount of students.”
Enrollment is particularly important to the district’s financial planning because of the way Kansas school funding is structured.
Fager said the Consumer Price Index component of school funding can provide additional money each year, but losing a significant number of students puts pressure on the district’s finances and can force administrators to consider other constraints when attempting to provide salary increases and maintain existing salaries.
Fager said the projected 34-student increase is especially encouraging following last year’s loss of students. “This is welcome news,” he said.
Fager also credited the district’s teachers, students and programs for the positive enrollment trend. “I think it says a lot about our school district, our teachers, our students and the things that we have going on,” he said.
IN OTHER NEWS, the board approved the district’s proposed $27.125 million budget for the 2026-27 school year following a public budget hearing. The budget calls for total expenditures of $27,124,842 and a total mill levy of 67.486 mills. That compares with a 65.749-mill levy for 2025-26, an increase of 1.737 mills.
The board also conducted its required Revenue Neutral Rate hearing and approved a resolution allowing the district to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for the upcoming school year.
BOARD MEMBER Tony Leavitt reported on discussions involving Allen Community College and the possibility of moving its commercial driver’s license (CDL) program to the Rural Regional Technical Center.
“The instructor was very positive about the facilities and the location,” Leavitt said.
