Student enrollment is a big issue for districts because state funding is tied to the number of students sitting in classroom seats.
For Tucson Unified School District, the dip could mean a budget cut of about $4.5 million.
The district recently revised the projected enrollment number this school year from just under 45,000 students to slightly more than 44,000. There was a loss of about 880 students.
This is the first year that the budget is based on the current year's number rather than the previous year, which means the total number could drop even more in the coming months.
TUSD board chair, Michael Hicks, says he's upset about the overall decline of the district over the past few years.
Hicks says his first priority is getting students back into the district. He believes the best way to do that is to give more support to teachers in the classrooms.
