We are not alone. Gloucester and Mathews public schools enroll fewer students each year. This situation confronts school boards and administrators with knotty problems. How large a budget? How many schools? Staff growth? Staff layoffs? School budgets, county taxes, state standards and school contribution formulas, and enrollment are inextricably connected. And we have learned, from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service in Charlottesville, that we are not alone. Declining public school enrollment is a fact across Virginia, from the poorest to the richest districts. The Cooper Center tags a declining birthrate as the chief factor. Indeed, the national birthrate is the lowest for decades, if not in history, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The public school system across the United States is an invaluable part of our national fabric, infinitely variable as to offerings, regional focus, and student demographics, and at the same time, ro...