Two Hamilton County school districts are moving in opposite directions, and a new IndyStar opinion piece, written by Sadia Khatri, argues the main reason is real estate — specifically, whether existing homes are turning over to young families.

The Hamilton Southeastern story. HSE has lost more than 1,500 students since 2020. That decline has real consequences: the district recently announced it will eliminate nearly 60 positions, including contracts for 18 teachers. Because Indiana funding follows the student, fewer students means less money.

Superintendent Matt Kegley points to several causes — families having fewer children and having them later, and some students transferring out for religious schools or smaller settings. But the trend he emphasizes most is housing. Fishers grew fastest in the mid-2000s, and many of those residents have since become empty-nesters who stayed put. Because they aren’t selling to younger families with school-age kids, the pipeline of new elementary students has thinned. The losses are steepest in the early grades.

How HSE is responding. Rather than wait for the housing market to shift, HSE launched an open-enrollment (non-resident transfer) program. Families outside the district can enroll their children but must provide their own transportation. Participation grew from 99 students last year to about 120 approved for 2026-27. Many of those transfers are in the lower grades, which Kegley called encouraging — families who join early are more likely to stay. The district has room for more and hopes awareness across Central Indiana keeps growing.

Why Westfield is booming. To the west, Westfield Washington Schools has grown 43% over the past decade. Its high school has gone from about 650 students in the 1990s to more than 3,000 today, and the district is restructuring — phasing out its intermediate school by moving fifth grade into elementary and sixth grade into middle school. Superintendent John Atha attributes the growth to demographics and, above all, new housing: unlike “built-out” Fishers and Carmel, Westfield still has homes ready for families to move into.

The housing throughline. Over the past decade Westfield issued more residential building permits than Carmel and Fishers combined, according to the Indiana Association of Realtors, and it has the most listings priced at or below $350,000 — the inventory that attracts young families. Fishers isn’t alone: Carmel Clay Schools has also lost more than 750 students since 2020, and Carmel is likewise largely built out.

The long view. Hamilton County is projected to add roughly 180,000 residents by 2050. Westfield is the current top draw for families with school-age children, but early signs of the same enrollment slowdown are already appearing in its numbers. As columnist Khatri  puts it, no suburb stays young forever.

You can read Sadia Khatri’s opinion piece at this link, but you will likely need an IndyStar online subscription to access the article.