DISTRICT U-46 STUDENT ENROLLMENT DECLINES IN 2026-27
Total enrollment for the current school year in Elgin School District U-46 stands at 32,007 students, down 1,175 or 3.5% less from the 2025-26 school year, continuing a 12-year trend, officials said.
“This decline is fairly consistent with last year’s and with the decline that we’ve modeled through the early planning with Unit U-46,” U-46 Chief of Staff Brian Lindholm said at the Oct. 19 school board meeting.
Lindholm said the drop is largely due to declining birthrates. The district also has seen a decline since 2024 by several hundred in the number of new students enrolling.
“We do typically see these students enroll in our schools in a rolling fashion through the year,” he said. “It will be interesting to see if recent immigration activities keep these numbers down again this year, which is what we saw last school year.”
Lindholm said that enrollment peaked at 40,000 in 2024 and may bottom out at between 27,000 and 28,000 by 2030. Class sizes per grade level were about 3,000 12 years ago and are now about 2,000 in lower grade levels, he said.
Birth rates within the district’s boundaries appear to be leveling off at about 2,500 per year, Lindholm said. It’s estimated about 70% of those children typically go to U-46 schools for kindergarten.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HALLOWEEN TRIVIA NIGHT THIS WEEK
The Habitat for Humanity NFV’s Young Professionals Board will host a Halloween trivia night from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Habitat main office, 56 S. Grove Ave., Elgin.
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Participants will answer questions related to Halloween and are encouraged to wear costumes as they network while competing for prizes and bragging rights, according to the Habitat website.
Tickets are $10 each or six for $50. For tickets and more information, go to givebutter.com/habitat-halloween-trivia.
ECC CULINARY ARTS PROGRAM HOSTING SIX-COURSE MEAL
Elgin Community College Culinary Arts Program will host “Flavor for Flights,” a six-course meal paired with wines from Frog’s Leap Winery of Napa Valley, at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, in the Spartan Terrace Restaurant in Building H.
The dinner will feature dishes prepared by culinary instructors and served by students, with proceeds supporting the Culinary Study Abroad program, according to the ECC website. Chefs Lucas Wagner, Jim Guzzaldo and Tommy Hensel will talk about their dishes and the wines paired with each course.
Tickets are $175 per person. They can be purchased at elgin.edu/news/ecc-in-the-news/2026/elgin-community-college-culinary-arts-to-host-six-course-wine-dinner-flavors-for-flights-to-support-student-study-abroad.php.