At the most recent Pella School Board meeting, Superintendent Greg Ebeling closed the session with discussion about enrollment. While the final count will be certified at their next meeting, the October 1st enrollment showed a slight dip based on final calculations for students, with 2339 the final number counting toward the FY 2026 general fund. The October 2023 number came in at 2,350.7. The loss is attributed mainly to another large high school class graduating out and much smaller kindergarten class arriving; the district continues to see net gains in overall move-ins from other districts and open enrollment. The small drop in students is not as much as projected in the budget reduction process held last year, according to Ebeling, but additional cuts will still be needed still as part of the two year plan started by the Pella School Board in 2023-24. A nearly $1.1 million shortfall was addressed in part through another large series of early retirements, in addition to several general fund reductions approved last year.