The Problem of Declining Enrollment in the Elementary Schools of Shanon County

During recent years, enrollments in most South Dakota elementary schools have declined city very rapid rate. The prevailing type of rural school district organization in most counties has proved rather ineffective in coping with dwindling enrollments and with the consequent high cost per pupil. It is the purpose of this pamphlet to assist educators, school board members and other Shannon county leaders, by analyzing the nature of the problem and by presenting suggestions for its solution; as they have grown out of the experiences of other South Dakota communities. In reading this bulletin it should be kept in mind that Shannon County is one of the four counties in the state in which the entire county is organized as one school districts. This study was made possible through the cooperation of the State and Federal Work Projects Administration and the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. The project is officially designated as W. P.A. Project No. 265-1-74-57. The authors gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of Mrs. Elsie Haddock, the Shannon County Superintendent of Schools, from whose office most of the data used in this study were secured; and of high school superintendents who supplied lists of their tuition students