I really don't know anything about the school populations situation, but here in the Mississippi Delta where almost everything is related to agriculture in some was, the overall population is dropping at a fairly rapid rate. According to an article in "The Delta Business Journal" following the 2020 census the Delta counties had lost 25% of their population. Greenville was probably the hardest hit city. Cleveland had less loss than other, but according to that article, Cleveland lost about 5% of its population. Unless a young person is inheriting a business/farm, becoming a teacher, working in the medical field, or working for Baxter Healthcare there's just not much to keep them here. Every family in the church has children and grandchildren who live somewhere else. When the grandparents retire they often move to where their children live in order to be close to their grandchildren. I suspect this situation is not exclusive to the Mississippi Delta. Friend of mine in a larger church in the Jackson area told me that their numbers have greatly increased over the past several years but it's mostly been due to people moving into the area rather than gaining new members from people already in the area. At least 8 of our families have moved from here to larger cities, either for jobs or to be closer to grandchildren.