Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey talks to Alabama State Board of Education members about enrollment numbers at their monthly meeting on Oct. 9, 2025. Mackey said that Alabama could see its biggest public school enrollment drop in 40 years. (Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector)
Alabama’s public school enrollment could see its largest decline in 40 years, Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey told members of the Alabama State Board of Education on Thursday.
Enrollment in the state’s K-12 schools in the 2024-25 school year was 729,242, a slight increase over 2023-24. The department did not release numbers Thursday for the 2025-26 school year, but Mackey said Thursday only about 12 schools have seen growth in enrollment while other districts have seen numbers decline…