The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.

As the Cedar Rapids school district faces a decline of 622 students this year, school leaders are asking the community to work with them to develop a strategic plan to increase enrollment and address facility and staffing needs.

The 4.3 percent decline of students from the Cedar Rapids district will mean a loss of about $5 million in revenue for the 2026-27 school year. Total enrollment in the district is 13,945 students.

“The work in front of us is to develop a co-created strategic plan with our community that outlines what we want to accomplish for our kids. We’re going to have to problem solve this together because the budgetary realities, they’re here,” Superintendent Tawana Grover said i

See Full Page