Published 10:00 am Thursday, May 28, 2026 The Bend-La Pine Schools may have to consolidate or close schools in the future because of declining enrollment. That’s a very different outlook than the build, build, build days of the recent past. Empty desks mean the school board may have to make big decisions that are fiscally responsible and promote academic excellence — and that are going to make some parents and students upset. Five years ago, the prediction from Portland State University was that the Bend school district would have a somewhere between 17,500 and 18,800 students in 2025. The actual enrollment was 16,849 as of Oct. 1, 2025. “That data was not accurate,” Superintendent Steve Cook said Tuesday . “Not only was the data inaccurate it was so inaccurate that it was pretty concerning as to the methodology.” Superintendent Cook and other district staff decided the district needed better information.…