The Long Arm of Foreclosures Affect School Enrolments and Unemployment in Modesto

The long arm of foreclosures is affecting school enrolments and unemployment prospects in Modesto.

One by one the various courses that were offered are disappearing in the schools – musical instruments are lying unused, the offices of the counselors are vacant and other electives like the woodshop had vanished some time ago. The enrolment in these middle schools has dropped by 20% in the last few years. The Empire Union School District is ravaged by foreclosures and unemployment that have caused many families to be uprooted. In the past six years the schools have lost 21.8 % of the enrolled students.

The families have gone in many directions – some took out the equity on their houses and moved to the Midwest or South. Others shifted to Ceres or Village I located in east Modestor. Many returned to Bay Area.

This is the fate of other school districts too. Many school districts in Stanislaus County have seen sharp fall in number of enrolments during the past couple of years as per the findings of a scrutiny carried on by Bee. In Salida Union and Riverbank Unified the rate is down by 5.5% and 3.5% respectively as compared to 2007. Eighteen districts out of twenty-six districts have lost students in big numbers.

It is not an easy task to find out where these families are going. But tracking enrolment gives a clue because it is the task of the school district officials to make enquiries when the students fail to turn up at school. It is “a very reasonable prediction” indicating that the population and hence the students have declined. Most of the houses are being gobbled up by foreclosures said Bill Herrin of University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Banks have taken back over 10,000 reo homes in Stanislaus County during the last twelve months according to ForeclosureRadar.com. Since last autumn, enrolment in public school of the county had fallen from 105,510 to 2,233.

The counties in Bay Area have seen modest increase in student numbers since the past three years as per the findings of the Department of Education of the state. During the housing boom many moved to the outskirts motivated by the desire to own a house. They used to commute to the Bay Area to their place of work. But the foreclosure and fuel crisis has changed the picture. In all probability the people are living in rented quarters near their place of work.