enrollment

The approved item avoids displacing students at Carlock or Glenn Elementary and adds no new taxes to pay for facility construction costs.

Carlock Elementary was initially proposed to close due to its enrollment that hovers around 100 students. The consulting firm Cropper GIS characterized that as “unsustainable.” Parents are relieved to hear Unit 5 plans to recommend school board members approve a plan to keep the school open and keep Glenn Elementary as-is.

Two options were presented Wednesday to the Unit 5 school board to move forward with the districtwide enrollment study.

About two dozen public commenters, including a few current Carlock students, spoke during Wednesday's meeting.

Unit 5 families received an update Wednesday on the enrollment planning study meant to adjust enrollment for certain schools in McLean County’s largest school district.

The forum hosted by Unit 5 and Cropper GIS laid out the criteria, process and timeline for the enrollment planning study, including a website, unit5enrollmentplanning.com, where interested parties can see progress and submit feedback.

The number of international students attending Bloomington-Normal colleges and universities will be down significantly when classes begin this month because of the anti-immigration stance of the Trump administration.

Over the last decade, state funding for Illinois State University has dropped by more than a third after inflation. And it has declined as a share of the total university budget for more than three decades. That could change if the state legislature passes a measure this spring.

Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule said Thursday in the annual State of the University address that if the university does nothing, it will have a deficit next year that could grow substantially over the next three years.

Enrollment at Heartland Community College in Normal is down slightly both in the number of students and in credit hours taken for the fall semester.