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Student enrollment is projected to decrease in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) until 2031, according to the school system. After years of steady growth, student enrollment started to decrease in 2019. At that time, LCPS had 84,175 students. In 2020, there was a 3.2% decrease in students. As of 2025, the school system has 80,635 students, according to LCPS’s dashboard. It is the lowest amount since 2016. At Tuesday’s school board meeting, LCPS Chief Financial Officer Sharon Willoughby was scheduled to present recommendations to the school board to request the county's Board of Supervisors appropriate $17.5 million in supplemental funding to LCPS between the school operating fund and the Health Self Insurance Fund. “Ten years ago, LCPS’s operating budget was just over $950 million. Today, the proposed FY27 budget is over $2 billion — more than double — even though enrollment has actually gone down. And that’s despite losing state funding, which is based on actual enrollment, and significant federal dollars. Asking for this much more funding puts a real strain on local taxpayers, and it’s why a thorough audit is so important to make sure every dollar is being spent wisely," school board member Deana Griffiths told 7News. Earlier this year, Loudoun County Superintendent Aaron Spence proposed a budget for the current school year to increase the LCPS budget by $131.7 million in local tax funding. That’s a 7% increase from the previous school year. RELATED | Loudoun County Public Schools plans to add more staff than new students next year Even though student enrollment was expected to remain nearly level at the time, Spence’s proposal added more than 400 additional full-time positions, which is more new staff positions than new students.
