The Hastings School Board received a detailed look at the district’s enrollment trends Wednesday night, Feb. 25, as Director of Finance and Operations Jennifer Seubert presented the annual October 1 enrollment snapshot, outlining a decade-long decline in student numbers alongside significant demographic shifts.
The report, titled “Enrollment Report 2025 – October 1st Snapshot,” provides a point-in-time view of the district’s K-12 enrollment and includes 10-year historical trends to help illustrate how Hastings Public Schools has changed over time.
Using certified data reported to the Minnesota Department of Education, Seubert said total district enrollment declined by 85 students from Oct. 1, 2024 to Oct. 1, 2025.
According to the enrollment summary, overall enrollment dropped from 4,041 students in 2024 to 3,956 students in 2025. Of that decline, 29 students were in grades K-12, while the high school alone saw a decrease of 30 students. Middle school enrollment remained relatively stable.
“We’re seeing those smaller cohorts continue to move through the grades,” Seubert said, noting that lower birth rates in recent years have contributed to the ongoing decline.
The trend is not new. A bar chart on the report shows enrollment has steadily fallen from 4,455 students in 2016-17 to 3,956 in 2025-26 — a decrease of nearly 500 students over 10 years. Rather than sharp year-to-year drops, Seubert described the pattern as gradual and consistent.
“We haven’t had big changes,” she said. “It’s just kind of a gradual decline.”

Student population becoming more diverse
While overall enrollment is decreasing, Hastings schools are serving a more diverse student population. The percentage of students identified as racially diverse increased from 11.6% in 2016-17 to 19.9% in 2025-26.
Board members noted that the shift was expected based on trends seen in kindergarten classrooms years ago.
“We knew that this was going to happen 10 years ago,” Mark Zuzek said. “We saw the diversity of our kindergarten classes and knew what the chart would look like as those students moved through the system.”
The district has also seen an increase in the percentage of students qualifying for educational benefits, which includes free and reduced-price meals.
According to the report, 22.8% of students qualified for educational benefits in 2016-17. That number dipped prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but rose sharply during pandemic years and now stands at 27.5% for 2025-26.
Seubert explained that this figure directly affects certain funding streams, including compensatory and Title funding. Although recent changes mean some compensatory funding will be based on direct certification rather than applications, she noted that other formulas still rely on overall qualification rates.
“When families don’t fill out applications, it does hurt us,” Seubert said, referring to the impact on funding calculations.

Special education services on the rise
One of the most significant long-term changes involves special education enrollment.
Ten years ago, 13.1% of Hastings students received special education services. Today, that figure has climbed to 18.1.
Even as overall enrollment declines, the proportion of students requiring special education services continues to grow.
Board members emphasized that this is a statewide trend and not unique to Hastings.
“The special education increase from 13-plus percent to 18 percent — that is similar throughout the entire state,” said Zuzek.
Seubert also pointed out the financial implications.
“Special education is not fully funded,” she said. “So this does have an impact on our district.”

English learner population nearly doubles
The percentage of English learners (EL) in Hastings has nearly doubled over the past decade.
Page 9 of the report shows that English learners made up 1.3% of students in 2016-17. In 2025-26, that figure stands at 2.5%.
While the overall percentage remains relatively small, Seubert said the growth represents a significant shift in district programming needs.
Board members again noted that the increase mirrors broader state and national trends.

Nonpublic and homeschool numbers remain elevated
Enrollment in nonpublic schools serving Hastings-area students has remained relatively stable over the past decade. Nonpublic enrollment is at 390 students in 2016-17 and 382 students in 2025-26 Homeschooling rose sharply during the pandemic and remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. There were 110 homeschool students in 2016-17. That number peaked at 171 during the 2021-22 school year and now stands at 140 in 2025-26.
“We are lower than the peak,” Seubert said, “but still higher than pre-pandemic levels.”

Open enrollment trends
Open enrollment - students choosing to attend a school district other than their resident district - continues to affect Hastings. For 2025-26, 97 students open enrolled into Hastings, while 319 open enrolled out, resulting in a net loss of more than 200 students.
However, Seubert noted a positive sign: the number of students open enrolling out is at its lowest level in the past five years.
“So that’s some good news,” she said.
Board member Elaine Mikel-Mulder asked whether the district has a system in place to gather information about why families choose to open enroll out.
“If we get a trend line that, ‘Hey, if we address this, this might be a thing that we can get some folks back,’ do we have a system for that?” she asked.
Seubert said the district attempts to gather information as families withdraw but acknowledged the current system is not comprehensive.
Superintendent Kristine Wehrkamp Herman added that in a previous district, an anonymous questionnaire was sent to families who had open enrolled out, yielding helpful feedback. She suggested that approach could be considered in Hastings.
Board members stressed that many of the trends — declining enrollment, rising special education percentages, and increasing diversity — are not unique to Hastings. Still, the data underscores ongoing challenges for the district as it works to align staffing, programming and long-term financial planning with a smaller but increasingly diverse and higher-needs student population.