The number of students enrolled in Baltimore County Public Schools has declined again, hitting a 10-year low.

On Tuesday, Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers held a news conference where she discussed the newly released enrollment numbers. But first, she touted her school system’s recent success.

“Team BCPS started the month of December celebrating incredible news,” Rogers said Tuesday.

The Maryland State Department of Education earlier this month released the state report card for the 2023-24 school year. Roughly 1,300 public schools in the state receive a star rating based on student performance metrics.

Baltimore County led Maryland with 20 schools that received a five-star rating, the state’s highest designation. BCPS is also home to the top-rated public high school in the state, Eastern Technical, and Maryland’s two top public rated elementary schools, Rogers Forge and Sparks.

“I thank team BCPS for the intentional focus on providing the high-quality instruction and supports for all of our students, and our commitment to continuous improvement,” said Rogers.

But not all numbers in the school system are going up. Data just released by BCPS show the number of students enrolled in the district continues to decline.

From 2014 to 2019, BCPS enrollment was steadily increasing, hitting a peak of 115,038 in 2019. The following year, during the coronavirus pandemic, enrollment plummeted by nearly 4,000 students. And it appears those students never came back. Since 2021, enrollment has declined every year. In September 2024, BCPS enrollment hit a 10-year low. Enrollment stands at 110,066 or roughly a 4.3% decrease from 2019.

FOX45 asked Rogers if she is concerned about the decline in students enrolled.

“We have over 2,000 students sitting in our pre-K full time seats, and another 2,400 in our half day seats. Those students are going to be a part of our enrollment numbers next year. And so, of course, we want to grow in other areas. But we’re looking in good shape, because those students will be a part of the enrollment next year,” Rogers said.

According to Rogers, around 4,400 students are currently enrolled in prekindergarten. Last year, according to state data, the number of pre-K students in BCPS was around 3,750.

It appears Rogers is suggesting district enrollment will increase in the coming years. But BCPS’ recent enrollment projections have not been accurate. BCPS’ projected enrollments have been overestimated by the district every year since 2018.

“We’re going to continue to fill those seats and continue to grow our enrollment to where it was pre-COVID,” said Rogers.

In Maryland, schools are funded on a per-student basis. If a school has fewer students, it will receive less funding. BCPS’ enrollment decline is one of the largest in the state. Updated enrollment numbers from September 2024 are not yet available for most districts. But since 2020, public school enrollment statewide is down about 2%, while Baltimore County is down more than twice that at more than 4%.

According to the U.S. Census, since 2020, Baltimore County’s population is down about 1%. Maryland’s overall population has remain about the same.

Have a news tip? Contact Chris Papst at cjpapst@sbgtv.com.