Round Rock Edition | August 2022

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“Although the cost of living and ination are going up, if we lost enroll- ment, then we have to function with less money,” RRISD Superintendent

that waitlist if a student unenrolls or moves,” Gardner said. Nearby in HISD, enrollment has continued trending up: From 2019- 20 to 2021-22, HISD’s enrollment grew 10.21% while RRISD and PfISD saw net declines of 7.43% and 3.46%, respectively. HISD Superintendent Celina Estrada Thomas said Hutto’s rapidly growing population and relative aordability is a primary reason for the district’s more stable enrollment. “The housing market in Hutto continues to be attractive for young families,” Estrada Thomas said. “The availability of housing and the low interest rates kept families moving into our area.” Budgetary concerns When enrollment levels decline, Killian said school districts primarily feel the shortfall in their budgets. “Low enrollment and attendance have a signicant impact on us as a district in a variety of ways, but most importantly in loss of state aid,” Killian said. In Texas, the amount of property tax a district is allowed to keep as well as the amount of state aid it receives are based on the number of students who regularly attend school. Low enrollment means fewer stu- dents attending school than were pro- jected on a district's budget for any given school year. That can dramati- cally reduce the amount of funding a school district has to work with. In PfISD, for example, the district budgeted for 26,312 students, but the total enrollment ended up at 25,486 for the 2021-22 school year. That decit contributed to a $7.6 million shortfall. Ocials said the drop in enrollment helped increase the decit at PfISD,

ENROLLMENT OVER TIME

Hafedh Azaiez said. Reasons for the drop

Drops in enrollment growth during the 2020-21 school year come following years of steady growth. Enrollment in Round Rock ISD continued to decline the following school year, while enrollment at Pugerville ISD began to recover.

Ocials say COVID-19 played a sub- stantial role in the initial enrollment decline with many parents removing their children from public schools over safety concerns. “We’ve seen a lot more kids staying at home—like homeschool—[and] a lot more students also trying to nd vir- tual options,” Azaiez said. However, ocials say that as con- cerns about COVID-19 wane, supply and aordability of housing have taken over as the main factors inu- encing enrollment. Azaiez said recent high housing prices have led some families to move out of Round Rock and have kept new families from moving in at the same rate as previous years. “I think that drove some of our parents to move up north of us, away from Round Rock, just to aord a rent or mortgage,” Azaiez said. PfISD Superintendent Doug Killian echoed Azaiez’s points, listing the housing cost as a primary contributor to PfISD’s drop in enrollment. Killian also pointed to the growing network of charter schools in the area creating additional competition for school districts. Sarah Gardner, director of commu- nity engagement for Meridian World School, a public charter school in Round Rock, said after some initial enrollment instability at the begin- ning of the pandemic, Meridian’s enrollment has remained stable. “We have about a 2,500-person waitlist, so we’re really able to draw on

ROUND ROCK ISD

51,500

49,500

47,500

-1.38%

45,500

PFLUGERVILLE ISD

26,800

+5.75%

25,800

24,800

23,800

HUTTO ISD

10,000

+37.28%

8,500

7,000

5,500

2017-18 2016-17 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2015-16

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