DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Another Central Illinois school district is struggling with enrollment.
Decatur Public Schools #61 School Board heard from a demographer from Business Information Services who painted a grim picture of the district's future.
He said Decatur faces an aging population, few jobs and limited housing available.
DPS is also faced with competition from increasing private school enrollment and strong neighboring districts.
"I see that you've got some challenges here to really catch people's attention; you've got a big mountain to overcome. You need to think outside the box because whatever you're doing is not working — you're not there," said Preston Smith, president and CEO of Business Information Services.
Smith suggested redistricting to take advantage of empty classroom space.
He also stressed the need to work with city leaders on workforce development, recruiting new business and ways to draw new young families to Decatur.
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