Manhattan Beach school enrollment down 8 percent due to pandemic SHARE Source: Manhattan Beach Unified School District by Mark McDermott The Manhattan Beach Unified School District school board began its budget deliberations last week, and though the overall budget scenario presented was a mixed bag, one number stood out. This school year, 493 students left MBUSD. That sudden and steep drop in enrollment represented an 8 percent decline from last year, or 6,524 students compared to 6,031. At a budget workshop on January 20, district officials said the enrollment decline was due to parents who opted to relocate their children to out-of-area schools that allowed in-person classroom instruction. The biggest losses have been in the district’s five elementary schools, which lost 310 students.