A plot of land in your district is being sold to developers looking to build homes that will attract families with young children. A large employer plans to move into your region—or move out. A neighborhood once home to many school-age children is now predominately made up of empty-nesters and senior citizens.

Making decisions about when and where to build new schools, renovate older schools, close underused ones, and redraw attendance boundaries are key responsibilities of school boards. Facilities planning and management involves money and change—two things that are sure to create a lot of community interest and heightened emotions. 

Building schools can take years of preparation and planning before ground is broken on new facilities, so decisions must be made carefully and with thought toward what’s best for students and the community in the present and future.

Many school districts employ demographers to assist with facilities planning. School demographers watch real estate, development, and population trends and predict future projections five, 10, and even 20 years down the road.

But not even the best demographers could have seen the COVID-19 pandemic on the horizon. None of us could.

Public schools lost more than 1 million students from fall 2019 to fall 2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Enrollment dropped from 50.8 million to 49.4 million during that time.

Where did these students go? Private school enrollment increased during the pandemic, as did the number of homeschooled children. However, a third of the missing students haven’t been accounted for. Researchers suspect some parents had their children skip kindergarten and are waiting until first grade to enroll them. Other students might have moved away with their families without notifying their districts. Still, no one knows for sure.

The nation’s top urban schools saw the biggest decline in enrollment, but suburban and rural school districts also have seen student numbers drop.

Unfortunately, we may not see a rebound. The federal government predicts that public school enrollment will continue to decline—to 47.3 million—by 2030.

School board members come from many different backgrounds and bring a variety of skills, experiences, and temperaments to their roles as school leaders. But we all have at least one similar trait: All school board members are problem-solvers. That’s our nature. Many of us ran for the school board because we saw issues and wanted to be part of the solution.

My district, like many others, began our boundary study several months ago, which will help our board and district determine the future of many of our schools. Our strong policy on boundary changes and school closures guides our work. Good policies keep the process transparent to our public. One of the most important responsibilities of boards is crafting and reviewing policies that govern a school district. Declining enrollment creates controversies internally and externally but also invites innovation with problem-solving opportunities.

Affordable housing for families is an issue boards can address with city and municipality leaders. They also can look at how district buildings are used. These are opportunities for innovation to take flight. Boards and administrators can consider development of family-friendly or workforce-oriented projects, or partnerships with nonprofits for student and family wraparound services.

I mentioned in my June column that I’m a big fan of NASA and its innovative spirit. I compared school board members to NASA engineers, who must find answers to life-or-death scenarios while under great duress. Closing schools can be a painful experience, but it doesn’t have to be if boards are willing to lead out, speak up, and be innovative.