The Billings Gazette reports School District 2 enrollment is expected to barely grow in the next decade, but elementary schools will see a slight decrease, according to updated enrollment projections.

The companies that prepared both the update and original report for the Billings school district, Cropper GIS and Mckibben Demographics, first created enrollment projections for SD2 in 2012. However, high schools are expected to see an increase in enrollment. This update reduces K-12 expectations for growth by the 2027-28 school year by about 200 students, compared to the original report.

Projections factor in such variables as birth rates, trends for people moving in and out of the area, home values, and the strength of the local economy remaining stable– also, assuming that Lockwood won’t vote to expand from a K-8 to K-12– which will likely be on the May ballot.

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