BUTLER TWP — The Butler School District saw the biggest one-year dip in enrollment in 14 years, according to the final figures presented to the board.

The districtwide enrollment for 2016-17 is 6,583, according to numbers presented by Deborah Brandstetter, director of business services, at the school board meeting Monday night.

Enrollment in 2015-16 was 6,870, meaning there was a decrease in enrollment of 287 students. That is the biggest drop in 14 years of data presented to the board.

The first year of data presented, 2003-04, there were 8,455 students.

During those 14 years, the district lost 1,872 students, including a 223-student loss between 2014-15 and 2015-16 — more than 500 students in the last two years.

Superintendent Dale Lumley said graduation led to a net loss for the district.

“We’ve continued the downward spiral,” Lumley said. “You can see that’s a significant decline, primarily because we graduated in (2015-16) 560 students as seniors and this year, we have a very low kindergarten class of 379.”

Since the 2011-12 school year, the district has averaged a graduating class of just above 600 and an incoming kindergarten class size around 480. The average loss between graduating students and incoming kindergartners has been 177 in the last six years.