Utah's public K-12 schools lost 15,840 students this year, and families in Cottonwood Heights and Holladay will feel the squeeze.

Statewide enrollment fell 2.4% to 640,471 students for the 2026-27 school year, the largest single-year percentage decline since at least 2014, according to data the Utah State Board of Education released Oct. 22. The drop, first reported by the Deseret News, carries direct budget consequences for Canyons and Granite school districts, where state funding follows headcount.

Canyons School District, which serves Brighton High School and most Cottonwood Heights elementary schools, projected 567 fewer students for 2026-27. At $4,870 per pupil under the state's Weighted Pupil Unit (WPU) formula, that translates to roughly $2.7 million less in state funding, according to a presentation by business administrator Leon Wilcox at a March 10 board meeting. The district lost 659 students the prior year, costing $3.2 million.

Granite School District, which includes Olympus and Skyline high schools serving Holladay, enrolled 54,467 students in 2025-26, according to state board data. The district's own planning documents show a two-decade slide from a peak of about 68,614 students in 2010 to 55,546 in 2024, with projections dropping to roughly 51,540 by 2026.

The funding pressure is already reshaping schools. Canyons' board unanimously approved merging Bella Vista Elementary and Ridgecrest Elementary in Cottonwood Heights in December 2025, creating a combined school of about 600 students at the Ridgecrest campus.

Further consolidations stalled in June when board member Katie Dahle motioned to pause votes on merging Granite Elementary with Quail Hollow Elementary and Park Lane Elementary with Willow Canyon Elementary. Dahle said nine additional schools face declining enrollment and are "only a year or two behind" the schools initially targeted, according to the Cottonwood Heights Journal. The board launched a comprehensive districtwide study of elementary feeder systems instead.

Dahle said the board has until December to finalize any consolidation decisions for the 2027-28 school year.

Statewide, traditional district enrollment dropped 17,796 students, or 3.1%, while charter schools grew 2.3% to 87,161 students, according to the USBE data. Charter schools now account for 13.6% of Utah's public K-12 population, a share that has risen for five consecutive years.

Aaron Brough, USBE's director of data and statistics, said in the agency's release that the data "provide critical insights into changing student demographics, grade-level shifts, and localized trends, enabling the Board and legislative leaders to make informed funding decisions."

Canyons enrollment projections show Brighton High at 2,368 students for 2026-27, down from 2,420 the prior year. Districtwide, Canyons projects total enrollment falling from 31,933 in 2025-26 to 31,325 this school year, with further declines to 29,583 by 2029-30.

The USBE's full enrollment breakdowns by district and school are available on the agency's data and statistics website.