Lake Tahoe Sun

In the 2023-24 school year, kindergarten was the largest grade in Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District, with 396 students making up 9.6% of the student body, according to the California Department of Education. This represents a growth of 0.4% compared to the previous year.

The grade with the second highest number of students was 10th grade, with 382 students, or 9.2% of the student body.

The school that had the highest number of kindergarten students in Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District during the period was Truckee Elementary School, while Donner Trail Elementary School had the fewest.

Overall, Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District enrolled 4,135 students, ranking as the 319th highest enrolled district in California for the 2023-24 school year. It also ranked 319th highest in the previous school year.

California's public schools face a growing financial crisis driven by declining enrollment and an increase in chronic absenteeism, both impacting the state's school funding model.

Enrollment, which peaked at 6.3 million students in the early 2000s, has steadily declined to under 6 million today, with projections indicating it could fall below 5.2 million by 2032. This trend is attributed to lower birth rates, slowed immigration, and families relocating out of state due to high housing costs. Rural and coastal districts have been particularly affected, facing tough decisions such as school closures and staffing reductions.

At the same time, chronic absenteeism has surged from 12% pre-pandemic to 25%, disproportionately impacting younger students and jeopardizing their long-term success.

School	Total Enrollment
Alder Creek Middle School	513
Cold Stream Alternative	13
Donner Trail Elementary School	57
Glenshire Elementary School	485
Kings Beach Elementary School	380
North Tahoe High School	491
North Tahoe Middle School	285
Sierra High (Continuation)	30
Tahoe Lake Elementary School	286
Tahoe Truckee High School	894
Truckee Elementary School	486