<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2tMg7j_1FFjKFVo00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2tMg7j_1FFjKFVo00" width="1174" height="660" >MARION, Iowa — Linn-Mar Community School District is preparing for shifting enrollment patterns over the next several years, with a new analysis projecting overall enrollment will decline while the number of students at Linn-Mar High School grows.The enrollment analysis from RSP &amp; Associates projects districtwide K-12 enrollment will fall to about 7,002 students by the 2030-31 school year. At the same time, high school enrollment is projected to increase to 2,350 students, putting the building at about 98% of its listed 2,400-student capacity, but Superintendent Nathan Wear said that percentage needs some explanation.“Even though it says 98 capacity, there's there's some intricacies within the building that makes that number a little bit misleading,” Wear said.Wear said the calculation looks at the number of students and the square footage of the building. It doesn't take the high school's schedule into account.Linn-Mar uses a four-period block schedule, and many upperclassmen take three or four classes. Some students also spend time outside the building through work-based learning and programs offered through community colleges.“Very rarely do we ever have 100% of our school or students in the school at the same time,” Wear said.The analysis shows the high school increase is largely being driven by bigger classes that are already enrolled in Linn-Mar and are moving up through the district.One of those is the current eighth-grade class. Wear said it has about 650 students, compared with around 550 in some of the classes behind it. Some elementary classes have fewer than 500 students.“We've been anticipating and preparing for that high school enrollment just because of the number that's, that's been coming up,” Wear said.Preparing for those students doesn't just mean finding space. Wear said high school staffing can be more complicated because teachers need the right certifications for the classes they teach.The district is looking at those certifications, the number of sections offered and the master schedule. Wear said that will allow students to request the courses they need while the district adjusts staffing based on enrollment.The district is not planning an addition to Linn-Mar High School. RSP also describes the high school pressure as temporary because smaller classes are expected to eventually move into the building.While the high school is expected to grow, the district as a whole has been losing students.Linn-Mar's enrollment peaked at 7,797 students in 2021-22. It was down to 7,414 students in 2025-26, a drop of 383 students over four years. RSP projects K-12 enrollment will be about 7,002 students by 2030-31.One reason is the size of the younger classes.“We are traditionally graduating more seniors than we're bringing in for kindergarten students,” Wear said.The analysis found Linn County births have dropped about 10% since 2015. Linn-Mar kindergarten enrollment reached about 700 students in 2018-19 but is now around 520. RSP projects future kindergarten classes will generally be between about 480 and 540 students.Housing is another part of the enrollment picture.The number of people living within Linn-Mar's boundaries has continued to grow and more housing has been built, but that growth has not led to the same kind of growth in student enrollment. RSP found residential construction has recently been around 120 to 150 units per year.Wear said turnover in existing homes matters, too.“Families, because of interest rates and the economy, are not moving and changing houses as frequently as they have in the past,” Wear said.When fewer homes change hands, Wear said there are fewer opportunities for new families with children to move into the district.There could be more housing in the future. RSP identified more than 8,000 potential housing units in development areas within the district. However, about 80% of those potential units are considered long-term. The analysis says development could also happen faster or slower depending on demand, infrastructure and other factors.Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs, are another number the district is watching.The analysis found 231 students living within Linn-Mar's boundaries used ESAs in 2023-24. That increased to 427 in 2024-25 and 637 in 2025-26.Wear cautioned that those numbers do not mean Linn-Mar lost 637 students to private schools. Some of the students receiving ESAs may have already attended a private school and never been enrolled at Linn-Mar.“We're trying to dig into those numbers more to better understand how many of them did we actually lose versus how many were already enrolled in a private school?” Wear said.Wear said the district has been watching the larger classes move through Linn-Mar for years and does not want families to panic over the high school capacity number.“I do not want people to panic about the capacity issue, because we are well positioned to be able to serve these kids that are going to come through in the next four years, and then all the kids following,” Wear said.</div></body>

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MARION, Iowa — Linn-Mar Community School District is preparing for shifting enrollment patterns over the next several years, with a new analysis projecting overall enrollment will decline while the number of students at Linn-Mar High School grows. The enrollment analysis from RSP & Associates projects districtwide K-12 enrollment will...

Linn-Mar enrollment analysis shows shifting student numbers

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MARION, Iowa — Linn-Mar Community School District is preparing for shifting enrollment patterns over the next several years, with a new analysis projecting

Linn-Mar enrollment analysis shows shifting student numbers

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