Real estate
BY MICHAEL CROUCHLEY
Some Plano ISD campuses, including Armstrong Middle School, are facing limitations due to the district’s lowering capacity. The school didn’t have a cheer program for two years, Principal John Tedford told the PISD board of trustees on May 21. The football team rarely has enough players to finish the season. There’s no peer assistance and leadership program. “We find ways to make sure all students receive opportunities,” Tedford said. “It becomes more and more difficult.” Declining enrollment is a major reason Armstrong, and three other PISD campuses are closing. Armstrong operated at 48% of its capacity last year, and around 66% of the district’s campuses operated under 80%-85% capacity—which Deputy Superintendent Johnny Hill called “ideal.” Market impacts PISD enrollment
The cause
What’s next
Plano ISD enrollment history
Projected enrollment
Peak enrollment
lower interest rates are “hesitant to sell” because they don’t want to take on a higher rate. District officials have also pointed to population growth in northern districts, relative to Plano’s population growth, as another reason for declining enrollment. Plano’s population grew 1.2% from 2017 to 2022, while Collin and Denton County populations grew 18.1% and 17.2% during that same time frame, according to US Census Data.
PISD officials attribute declining enrollment to several factors, including rising home costs in Plano. The median price of homes sold in Plano was $287,000 in 2015, while that number was $547,500 in May 2024, according to data from the Collin County Area Realtors. North Texas-based Realtor Pamela Harrison said that high interest rates and home prices have “knocked many first-time buyers out of the market.” She added that many longtime homeowners with
PISD staff do not expect to see enrollment rebound any time soon. Hill said PISD’s enrollment is expected to decline by 3,000 more students in the next five years. He added PISD currently has nearly 18,000 open seats. That number would rise to 21,500 in five years without any school closures, Hill said. “That’s just not sustainable over time,” he said.
60K
40K
20K
Median home price in Plano (May)
"We’re not going to grow any time soon. If we don’t get ahead
0
$574.3K
$547.5K
$600K
of this now, it’s going to be an even bigger bite to chew later on." JERI CHAMBERS, PLANO ISD TRUSTEE
Homes built in Plano
$520K
$355K $351.5K $347K $342K
$400K
$315K
$430.4K
$265K $291K
16,042 houses built between 1970-1979
26,649 houses built between 1980-1989
34,799 houses built between 1990-1999
17,976 houses built between 2000-2009
12,328 houses built between 2010-2019
510 houses built between 2020-2022
+106.6% percent increase
$200K
$0
SOURCE: PLANO ISD, U.S. CENSUS DATA/COMMUNITY IMPACT
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
2022 2023 2024
2014
SOURCE: COLLIN COUNTY AREA REALTORS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
PLANO 5930 West Park Blvd (972) 250-0500
ALLEN 1839 N Central Expressway (972) 908-3488
EAST PLANO 3404 N Central Expressway (972) 423-6688
COIT ROAD 1453 Coit Rd (972) 867-2821
PLANO NORTH 5420 State Hwy 121 (469) 687-2581
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