Education
BY HALEY VELASCO
Clear Creek ISD looks to new programs to curb trend of declining enrollment
Diving in deeper
Polsen said there are a number of solutions being implemented to resolve the district’s enrollment challenges. For example, the district has expanded its full-day tuition-based prekinder- garten program, which will bring in about 400 new students for the upcoming school year. The district has also launched a limited open enrollment program for students of federal employ- ees and peace officers who live within 10 miles of the district, Polsen said. While Polsen and officials remain optimistic about turning the tide on enrollment issues, chal- lenges resulting from those losses are expected financially in both FY 2024-25 and future years. Along with declining enrollment, the state’s student allotment is at $6,160—a rate that has remained in place since 2019—which officials say is making it harder to keep up with costs. Special education programs also cost more to run, and as a result are also straining the budget, officials said. While CCISD’s enrollment has declined overall, programs such as the bilingual and special needs programs are adding more students to their respective rosters.
Chief Communications Officer Elaina Polsen said in an April 8 email the reason for the decline is due to the district’s school boundaries being built out. Polsen also said the district is “graduating more seniors than [the district has] kindergarteners.” As a result, officials said they are looking to areas like the district’s expanded pre-K program and its open enrollment for certain families, which could add hundreds of students over the next several years and help alleviate some of the losses.
With discussions surrounding fiscal year 2024-25’s budget starting at Clear Creek ISD, officials are looking at both current and future budgetary constraints—and how declining enrollment is exacerbating those challenges. However, while CCISD officials expect to lose nearly 4,000 students between 2020-2028, officials remain optimistic about the district’s future due in part to various programs and incoming housing projects that could help bolster district enrollment—and in part its budget—in the years to come.
Clear Creek ISD's enrollment forecast
50K
42,379
38,460
40K
36,939
30K
-12.84%
Impacting CCISD’s budget
20K
CCISD is expecting to lose nearly 4,000 students in this time period.
$8.3M 1,000+ $13.1M $14.5M
saved by reducing 131 staff members in past two years students added to special programs since 2019-20 projected budget shortfall in FY 2024-25 projected budget shortfall in FY 2025-26
10K
0
*PROJECTED TOTAL SOURCE: ZONDA EDUCATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
NOTE: PROJECTED SHORTFALLS DON'T INCLUDE POSSIBLE CONTINGENCY FUNDS SOURCE: CLEAR CREEK ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Annual starts New home build starts and sales within Clear Creek ISD Annual sales
Looking ahead
Polsen said despite the lack of large enrollment growth, she still sees the district as a desirable place for students to attend based on demographics. “While Clear Creek ISD is not growing at rapid pace like it once did, ... 90% of school- aged children who live within the district attend their neighborhood public schools,” Polsen said in an email.
Between 300-500 new homes are expected to be added annually over the next two to three years, according to a fall 2023 report from demographics firm Zonda Education, which does an annual report for CCISD. But that is contrasted by an overall slowing real estate market in the area, as both new housing builds and sales are slowing down, according to Zonda.
2017 2018 2019
2021 2020 2022 2023
SOURCE: ZONDA EDUCATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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BAY AREA EDITION
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