Carter County director of schools, Dr. Kevin Ward, is expecting a difficult budgeting cycle this year.

And the primary reason is the consistent drop in student enrollment for the Carter County School System.

“This is something that has been going on for the past several years,” said Ward. “In 2000, we had approximately 6,300 students in Carter County, and 18 to 19 years later, we are right at 5,000 or just a little under at 4,980.”

Ward went on to say that those drop in student numbers translates over to a drop in dollars the school system receives from the State of Tennessee’s Basic Education Program. Ward estimates that since 2000, the loss in funding equates to roughly $9 million.

“We have, over roughly 18 years, had a loss of about 1,300 kids,” said Ward. “If you take and put a rough figure of $8,000 per student that adds up pretty quick.”

Where are those students going each year? Well, Ward believes it has a lot to with families leaving Carter County in search of jobs.

“We have a few each year go to Elizabethton (School System),” said Ward. “But a lot of these are from families who are relocating most likely for job purposes. In recent years, we have been able to do some tracking of this. We have a seen a trend with younger families, if they get a job in the Tri-Cities, moving to places like Washington County and Sullivan County.”

According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce, in 2018, Carter County had a labor force of 24,030 with 910 of that labor force being unemployed. That equates to an unemployment rate of 3.8 which has dropped from the 2016 rate of 5.7 percent (Appalachian Regional Commission). Compared to Carter County, Washington County has a labor force of 59,630 people with an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. Sullivan County has a labor force of 70,820 people and an unemployment rate of 3.3 percent.

Ward said that the process of creating the school system’s budget is already underway and that revenue is going to be down this cycle due primarily to a drop in enrollment.

“This year we are looking at a projection of being down $600,000 with our Basic Education Program funding,” said Ward.

Carter County isn’t the only school system experiencing the problem of dropping numbers, Ward said.

“A lot of the rural school systems are experiencing this for some odd reason,’ said Ward. “I think what we are all experiencing this in rural systems— parents taking their kids to other parts of the state or out of state for job opportunities.”