WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Waco Independent School District is facing a significant enrollment decline, with nearly 4% fewer students this year compared to last year. The district now has more than 530 fewer children in its classrooms, which directly impacts the amount of state funding the district receives.
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The enrollment drop is particularly noticeable at key entry points in the education system. Jerry Allen, Waco ISD's Chief Technology Officer, stated that the district is experiencing considerable decreases at the pre-K and kindergarten levels, as well as at the 9th grade level.
"Our enrollment numbers are down considerably at the pre-K and kindergarten level and also at the 9th grade level, so our entry points," Allen said.
While there's no single explanation for the declining enrollment, Allen pointed to several contributing factors affecting school districts nationwide.
"What we're seeing is across the nation, across the world, really, low birth rates have contributed to that," Allen said.
School choice and voucher programs may also be driving numbers down, according to Allen. However, he sees this as an opportunity for public schools to demonstrate their unique value to communities.
"However, I do think that there is a good opportunity for public schools to show what we can truly do for our communities and provide a lot more services, wrap-around services like vision centers and other items, just social services that we can give to our students that a lot of the other school choices can't do," Allen said.
The enrollment challenges aren't uniform across all local districts. Robinson ISD reports stable enrollment numbers, currently serving 2,410 students. The district says it hasn't lost enrollment and remains stable, with a recent demographic study showing it's a destination district with more students transferring in than out.
Meanwhile, Midway ISD is also experiencing a decline, with enrollment down more than 1.3%.
Despite the enrollment challenges, Waco ISD has seen improvements in student attendance rates. The district has taken an active approach to addressing attendance issues.
"We've taken this very active approach and we're actually up 2% this year in attendance," Allen said.
The improved attendance helps offset some of the financial impact from declining enrollment.
"With our funding sources the way that they are, with enrollment being down, if attendance was still down as well, it would be a double hit on our funding, but with attendance being up and ticking up in the right direction, then that mitigates a little bit of that funding," Allen said.
Waco ISD says its goal is to improve graduation rates, and officials believe that starts with improving attendance. The district will submit final enrollment numbers to the state next month.
Here is a look at current enrollment numbers:
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