NEW ULM – School enrollment numbers are in and the majority of area New Ulm schools are seeing declining numbers.

New Ulm Public School (NUPS) has the largest overall enrollment, with 2,110 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. However, this represents a 33-student decrease from last year and marks a five-year trend of declining numbers.

Of the 13 classes attending NUPS this year, the seniors (Class of 2026) is the largest with 185 students. The kindergarten class (Class of 2037) has the lowest enrollment, with 135 students.

Superintendent Sean Koster said the main reason for enrollment was Kindergarten enrollment. He said this is the second year in a row with a small kindergarten class. In the fall of 2023, the incoming kindergarten class had 154 students. In 2024, kindergarten enrollment fell to 136 students and is now at 135 students for 2025.

Koster said for nearly a decade NUPS was seeing kindergarten classes with around 150 students, but is down 30 students.

Koster said the decrease in the Kindergarten classes is matching with Brown County’s birthrate rate, which has also decrease.

At Thursday’s District 88 School Board meeting, Koster said the enrollment decline reduces the district’s state revenue, which is primarily driven by student count.

“As we plan for the 2026-2027 school year, we will continue reviewing program structures, class sizes, and staffing levels to align resources with student enrollment,” Koster said.

He said the district will be reviewing the capture rate of students eligible to attend Kindergarten and how many are coming to NUPS.

New Ulm Area Catholic Schools (NUACS) has a total enrollment of 421 students in pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade for the 2025/2026 school year. NUACS President Julie Brandt said enrollment was down slightly from the previous year. The average class size is 30 students, with 3rd grade and 1st grade having the largest class size, with 40 students and 39 students.

The pre-K class has 31 students 214 students is St. Anthony’s Elementary (K-6th grade). Cathedral High School has 176 students in 9th-12th grade.

St. Paul’s Lutheran also reported a slight decrease in enrollment from last year. The kindergarten through 8th-grade school has a total of 314 students enrolled. The largest class is the 4th grade class with 45 students. The school’s preschool program currently has 46 students.

Minnesota Valley Lutheran (MVL) High School is the only school reporting an increase in student enrollment. Last year the school had 255 students enrolled in 9-12. This year’s enrollment is at 263 students.

The largest class is the juniors (Class of 2027) with 76 students. The senior class (Class of 2026) is the smallest, with 57 students.

Dean of Student Jim Buboltz said MVL has seen an upward trend in enrollment since COVID. He said before COVID, the school was seeing enrollment of around 187 students, but since then, the numbers have risen above 200.

Buboltz credited the increase to new offerings available at the school. A recent building project at the school has expanded the building. The school has added new course offerings and a cooperative agreement for extracurricular activities.

Buboltz also credited an increased enrollment to strong feeder elementary schools, including St. Paul’s Lutheran in New Ulm, Mount Olive in Mankato, Rising Savior in Mankato and Prairie Lutheran in Fairfax.

“We’re definitely seeing an increase in students coming from Mankato,” Buboltz said. “There is also an uptick from the Fairfax school.”

Looking to the future, Buboltz said enrollment is projected to continue rising.

“We see this increase continuing,” he said. “We should be reaching 300 students sooner rather than later.”