Many US adults are skipping parenting or having fewer kids – and it’s forcing schools to close

As the US birthrate has declined dramatically, schools are becoming emptier and districts are getting less public funding At a February board meeting for Memphis-Shelby county schools in Tennessee, a parent of five children who currently or formerly attended Ida B Wells Academy, an alternative education school, asked board members a question. “This is a high performing school. This is not a school in crisis,” she said. “So I respectfully ask, why are we considering closing a school that is wo...

By Eric Berger