AUSTIN, Texas — Austin ISD is ramping up efforts to bring families back to the district as enrollment continues to fall, with state lawmakers also turning their attention to the issue during a Senate hearing Tuesday.
Austin ISD staff and volunteers went door to door in neighborhoods Tuesday, hoping to reconnect with families who left the district this school year.
Groups spoke with families and left pamphlets at homes to inform them of their option to return.
“We know that families have a lot of choices. We want to make sure that they know that every student who lives in the Austin ISD boundaries has a guaranteed seat at their zoned elementary, middle and high schools,” said Victoria O’Neal, Austin ISD’s executive director of campus and family engagement.
The district has seen a drop of nearly 2,500 students compared to budget projections for this school year. Austin ISD leaders say families are moving out of the district or choosing other options like private schools, charters, or homeschooling.
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The trend is not unique to Austin, as public schools across Texas have lost more than 76,000 students since last year.
The enrollment decline was a focus at Tuesday’s Texas Senate Committee on Education hearing, where lawmakers questioned education leaders and experts about the impact on school funding and resources.
“We were predicted to have 15,000 students this year. We have 14,200. That’s significant,” Georgetown ISD Superintendent Devin Padavil told senators,
Padavil said the loss of students costs the district millions and forces tough budgeting decisions.
Lawmakers heard testimony about how shrinking enrollment typically means less state funding for schools, with the financial hit coming quickly.
“Starting in November, the money flowing to school systems will shrink if attendance counts are down,” Amanda Brownson, deputy executive director of the Texas Association of School Business Officials, said during the hearing. “The bad side is they don’t have very long to adjust to that reality because the revenue kind of will drop right away, starting with that November payment.”
Stephanie Hawkins, Austin ISD’s community engagement coordinator, said Tuesday’s enrollment outreach is about showing families that the district is present and available for conversations about families’ concerns and to answer their questions.
“It is showing that our presence is here, that we are here,” Hawkins said. “And if they may not answer the door, that’s OK. They have information showing that we were here.”
District leaders say they will continue to engage with the community and look for ways to stabilize enrollment, even as lawmakers and educators across Texas search for solutions to the statewide decline.