Maine public schools have seen drastic declines in enrollment over the last decade as many communities around the state have lost population as a result of changes in the economy.
Between 2007 and 2017, about two-thirds of schools, 392 of 592, saw a net decline in their student populations.
A Maine Focus analysis determined that every county in Maine has seen a net decline in public school enrollment, led by Lincoln and Aroostook counties.
After having 11,380 public school enrollees in 2007, The County saw that number drop to 9,287 by 2017, a decline of more than 18 percent.
Androscoggin County lost the least amount of students over the same span. It had 16,065 students in 2007 and 15,926 in 2017, a drop of less than 1 percent.
One of the hardest hit schools, Madawaska Middle/High School in Aroostook, lost 43 percent of its students between 2007 and 2017, declining to 226 from 403. The loss of students has forced the school to make major changes, said Gisele Dionne, superintendent of the Madawaska School Department.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “The Maine schools that have shrunk the most,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Tyler Blint-Welsh, please follow this link to the BDN online.
