The rolls of 54% of Otago's 154 secondary, intermediate and primary schools have declined in the past year, and 40% of them have posted their lowest and second lowest March Roll returns in the past decade.
Region wide, school rolls dropped by 396 pupils from 29,918 in March 2008 to 29,522 in March this year - the equivalent of about 15 classrooms.
While the roll decline in Dunedin has predominantly affected south Dunedin schools in the past, it now appears to be affecting schools across all quarters of the city.
Of the 11 Dunedin secondary schools, the rolls at seven have decreased.
Kaikorai Valley College was hardest hit with a drop of 87 pupils.
Although the school's roll was now lower than had been in more than a decade, principal Philip Craigie said it was expected.
"We knew the roll would decline because the primary and intermediate schools that feed Kaikorai Valley College have been declining.
"We used to get double-figure enrolments from Ocean View School. It's no longer now."
Mr Craigie said his roll was still large enough not to attract government funding cuts and was not having a negative impact on the school's operations.
However, he expected the decline to continue for up to another decade before it climbed back.
Balmacewen Intermediate was the only one of Dunedin's four intermediate schools to increase their rolls during the past 12 months.
And of the 44 primary schools in the area, 25 recorded lower rolls in the 2009 March roll return than the previous year.
Even the Taieri - a community which has been expanding in recent years - has recorded roll declines at 56% of primary schools.
Taieri College also recorded its first decline since it was merged with Mosgiel Intermediate in 2004.
Green Island School principal and Otago Primary Principals Association president Steve Hayward believed it was mainly due to the high number of elderly people moving to the Taieri, and the escalating cost of real estate.
"It's become more difficult for young families to afford housing out there."
The jobs lost at Burnside, Fisher and Paykel, and Cadbury had also resulted in many families leaving the area to find new jobs, he said.
North Otago has been hardest hit by the region's roll decline, with two-thirds of its primary schools losing pupils during the past year.
Oamaru Intermediate's roll has increased marginally, but at all three secondary schools in the town the rolls declined.
East Otago High School was the only secondary school in the area to grow.
South Otago has also been hit hard. All four secondary schools in the area and 59% of the primary schools decreased in roll size.
West Otago's Blue Mountain College recorded its lowest roll in a decade, but both of the area's primary school rolls remain relatively stable.
Despite the declines across the Otago region, Central Otago schools are looking buoyant.
While three of its four secondary schools have posted roll declines in the past 12 months, most primary schools have bounced back.
Only two of the 12 recorded roll declines.
Wakatipu High School and Mt Aspiring College rolls have significantly increased.
Surprisingly, the rolls at three of the Lakes District's largest primary schools have declined, despite the area's increasing population.
Queenstown School lost 23 pupils, St Josephs School (Queenstown) 6 and Wanaka School 28.
Wanaka School principal Wendy Bamford said the school had a particularly high intake of year 1 pupils six years ago.
They left the school last year to attend Mt Aspiring College. In effect, the roll had stabilised, she said.
