Decreasing enrollment in Denver Public Schools

Burt Hubbard and Nancy Mitchell of Rocky Mountain News found that about a fourth of school-age children ages 5 to 17 in Denver don't attend the city's public schools. Analyzing data from Denver Public Schools, suburban school districts, private schools and the U.S. Census Bureau, the study found that an estimated 15,700 students bypassed Denver Public Schools last year in favor of private or suburban schools that are seen as safer or academically superior. "In addition, about 4,600 Denver kids up to age 17 didn't go to school at all for reasons as varied as home schooling, dropping out or incarceration" The 20,300 potential students streaming away from DPS already cost the district more than $135 million a year in lost local and state funding.