Robert Sormani, Associate Superintendent of Instruction and Innovation at Hutto ISD, said this year’s numbers for summer enrollment are much higher compared to previous years.

That observation came during the district's June 24 meeting, following Superintendent Celina Estrada Thomas' enrollment report for summer school credit recovery.

District data show there are 1,075 students enrolled for summer credit recovery and 40 enrolled in the extended school year program. The summer school enrollment figures include 500 elementary, 149 middle school, 321 high school and 105 online students, Thomas said.

The back and forth of in-person and virtual instruction throughout the year played a big part in students falling behind, Sormani said.

Enrollment for the 2021-22 school year is 8,575 students, lower than what the district was expecting.

Thomas said one contributing factor for lagging enrollment numbers could be construction projects underway at Hutto Elementary, Hutto Middle and Farley Middle schools, which are all undergoing renovations.

“We’re thinking that families are just going to come out of the woodwork in August and decide to enroll,” she said. “There’s been a lot of delays with construction, so we figured that families are still not quite settled on when to enroll.”

Thomas added once the July 8 special session of the state legislature establishes how funding will be allocated, the district plans to make a public statement regarding whether a virtual option for learning will be available in the 2021-22 school year.