One way to illustrate school funding is to think of it as money that goes into a backpack. Wherever that student goes, so does the money allocated by the state. In this way, student enrollment is directly tied to the funding MCPS receives.

A new state law allows public school districts like MCPS to establish charter schools. Other new legislation makes it easier for students to enroll in school districts outside their area of residence.

MCPS is offering two charter schools - Missoula CONNECT Academy and Missoula TEACH Academy - starting in Fall 2024. Students who are already enrolled with MCPS, as well as students who are not currently enrolled with our District, may be eligible for enrollment. At the same time, current MCPS students may decide to enroll at a school outside of MCPS.

At this time, MCPS does not anticipate that enough students will leave our District, or a particular school or grade within a school, to significantly impact our enrollment. In some cases, a small fluctuation in students could even lead to reduced need for additional para support in some schools for classrooms that are overloaded, resulting in budget savings and less need to level enrollments across schools. 

It is also possible that students in private, home school and other neighboring districts will enroll with MCPS, which will drive up revenue from enrollment and other funding sources.