State blames shrinking enrollment at public schools on declining birth rate, outmigration

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii public schools lost nearly 3,000 students this school year compared to the year before, according to new enrollment figures released Friday.

It’s the fourth school year with declining enrollment.

DOE officials blamed the trend on Hawaii’s declining birth rate and ongoing outmigration to other states.

The state Department of Education said public schools enrolled 156,518 students this academic year.

The state’s 37 public charter schools, meanwhile, enrolled 12,116 students (down from 12,097 last year).

The largest public schools by grade level are:

• High schools: Campbell (3,039), Waipahu (2,661), Mililani (2,565), Farrington (2,238), Moanalua (2,064)
• Middle schools: Mililani Middle (1,580), Ewa Makai Middle (1,119), Waipahu Intermediate (1,084), Maui Waena Intermediate (1,044), Kaimukī Middle (950)
• Elementary schools: August Ahrens (1,164), Ewa (1,086), Holomua (1,071), Keone’ula (915), Waipahu (853)

The five smallest public schools in the state include: Niihau High and Elementary (17), Maunaloa Elementary (46), the Hawaii School for the Deaf and the Blind (53), Kilohana Elementary (75), and Waiahole Elementary (91).

Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.