Students get started on their first assignment of the day during the first day of school at Elizabeth Traditional School in Charlotte on Monday, August 25, 2025. CMS welcomes more than 141,000 students back to classrooms
The vast majority of public school districts in North Carolina saw a drop in enrollment this school year, according to new state data. Charlotte-area districts are no exception.
Of 12 local districts, all but one saw a decrease in average daily enrollment between last school year and this school year, new data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction show. Meanwhile, charter school enrollment continues to grow around the state.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had 2,418 fewer students during the first two months of the 2025-26 school year than it did at the same time the previous school year. That’s a decrease of about 1.7%.
It also means CMS’ average daily membership, or the average number of students currently on the rolls at a school on a given day, dropped to 139,476 this school year – the lowest it’s been since the 2010-11 school year.
It could have big implications for district funding, since about 80% of the state’s funding calculations are based on average daily membership. The state uses the first two months of enrollment data for any given school year to determine funding for the following year. The other 20% is based on student populations, including what percentage of a district’s students are low-income and have disabilities, and district characteristics like how big or wealthy a county is.
However, CMS expected a decrease this year, according to 10-year enrollment projections from November 2024. The district projects gradual decreases each year until the 2027-28 school year, when it expects the average daily membership will reach about 138,000, before trending upwards again.
Statewide, enrollment decreased in 105 of the 115 total NC public school districts, for a total decrease of 24,110 students – around 1.8%. It’s a continuation of a trend: enrollment has decreased in NC traditional public schools by over 5% since 2019. Over the same period, enrollment at charter schools and lab schools has increased by 46.6%.
While families are increasingly choosing charter schools, the latest state data show that, when it comes to performance, Mecklenburg County’s charter options are a mixed bag. About half outperformed the CMS average grade level proficiency rate during the 2024-25 school year, while the other half fell below the CMS average.
School systems and public school advocates have also cited declining birth rates as a significant factor in the decline.
“Birth rates are going down, and so this is a natural trend,” Heather Koons, a spokesperson for Public Schools First NC, told the Raleigh News and Observer. “We have ups and downs in terms of school enrollment that align with population increases and decreases.”
Other local districts
Every local school district aside from Stanly County Schools saw a decrease in average daily membership this year. In Stanly County, it remained stagnant at 8,719 students in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 school years.
Cabarrus County Schools saw an extremely slight decrease of just 15 students, accounting for a change of less than one tenth of one percent. Catawba County saw a similarly small decrease of just 12 students out of over 15,700.
Two smaller districts that sit within Catawba County also had slight decreases. Hickory City Schools had a decrease of just 10 kids, accounting for a 0.2% decrease, while Newton-Conover City Schools lost 24 students, for a decrease of 0.9%.
Rowan-Salisbury Schools also saw a marginal decrease of 0.3%, or 56 students.
The Kannapolis city school system, which straddles Cabarrus and Rowan counties, dropped from 5,362 students to 5,159 students, which was among the highest percentage decreases in local students at about 3.7%.
Union County Public Schools lost 1,049 students, accounting for a 2.5% decrease. Gaston County Schools had a decrease of 447 students, or 1.5%.
Iredell-Statesville Schools also found itself among the highest percentage decrease of any local district, losing 577 students, or 2.8% of its student population. The smaller district in the same county, Mooresville Graded School District, saw a decrease of 77 students, or 1.3%.
Lincoln County Schools also saw a 1.3% decrease, with 154 fewer students this year.
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Rebecca Noel
The Charlotte Observer
Rebecca Noel reports on education for The Charlotte Observer. She’s a native of Houston, Texas, and graduated from Rice University. She later received a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. When she’s not reporting, she enjoys reading, running and frequenting coffee shops around Charlotte.
