Last year, USD 259 made some changes to the Southeast boundaries to try and reduce the school’s population. This year, enrollment numbers are down significantly.

“Right now, we’re seeing a decline of well over 250 students at Southeast High School from where you were last year,” said Fabian Armendariz, USD 259 division director of operations.

The changes the district made were carefully created to displace a small number of students.

“We knew that both Heights and Southeast are the two (high schools) that had the opportunity for most growth. So, I think we were methodical in terms of reassigning, but not creating a significant challenge for the time being…I was a little surprised,” Armendariz said. “I don’t believe that the drop in enrollment at Southeast is all due to the boundary change, because I don’t think that even the total number of kids that live within that boundary is that big. So yes, there was a bit of a surprise of seeing that decline.”

Despite the decrease, teachers we spoke to say their classes are still crowded.

“The more students we have in my classes are going to be an issue especially in African American history. We struggle with how we are going to have to deal with passes for students,” history teacher Christopher Hughes said. “It’s great that we have big populations of students, but the learning experience is hindered.”

Some students we spoke to feel like there are fewer people in the hallways.

“It was more crowded last year, it’s easier to get to class. Not too many people in the hallway anymore,” Kamila Martinez (11) said. “We can basically move throughout the hall, no more cramped spaces or awkward pauses.”

Armendariz said he’ll have a better idea of where the decrease came from once enrollment numbers are completed in mid-October.