2023 EDUCATION EDITION
Austin ISD has faced shrinking enrollment over the last decade. Fewer students means less funding for the district, ENROLLMENT EXODUS
“The district has become complacent and assumes families will stay in the district despite the growing number of options around us,” AISD parent Sarah McKenna said. “Over the past several years, there has been a decrease in quality and a lack of transparency.” McKenna said parents do not feel heard when it comes to their children’s education at AISD and pri- vate schools are capitalizing on “the district’s fail- ures.” She feels the district is not nding innovative solutions to retain students. Pushing forward Despite being in the midst of academic demands along with plunging enrollment and tight nancial constraints, Segura said he and his team are hopeful they can turn the enrollment trend in the right direc- tion. In fact, district o cials predicted the 2023-24 school year would show an increase in enrollment of about 700 students by October compared to 2022- 23. District o cials did not a reason for the projected increase by press time. “We will continue to remain hopeful because we have created a process that aligns with the collective culture and values of AISD while not reducing expec- tations and continuing to ensure that all students have goals that we help them reach,” Segura said.
86,516
100,000
73,384
80,000
// 0 60,000
PRELIMINARY*
since funding is determined on a per student basis.
*AS OF AUG. 14, THE DISTRICT HAD OVER 73,000 STUDENTS ENROLLED. OFFICIAL ENROLLMENT IS DETERMINED LATER IN THE FALL.
SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
the district is a fundamental part of Austin’s culture and the city’s future. Priced out Segura said district o cials are conscious of the increased cost of living in the area. Rome said that is at least as big a factor in the enrollment decline as the other school options. “Families with school-aged children nd it more and more challenging to a ord to live within AISD’s boundaries,” Rome said. The median home price in the district was $620,000 as of June 2023 up from $266,250 in June 2013—a jump of 132.86%, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. AISD o cials are working to provide more
a ordable housing options for teachers within the district, according to district plans. “We own the land, which makes it remarkably a ordable to own housing, and one of the hardest things for us to retain employees, mainly teachers, is the cost of housing in Austin,” AISD spokesper- son Jason Stanford said over the summer. “So if we can control that cost, we gure we can retain more teachers.” Disproportionate opportunities Some AISD parents whom Community Impact spoke with said they feel the enrollment decline is due to a need for the district to work harder to create an equi- table, competitive environment for all students.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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