When public schools have students transfer out of the district, they can lose thousands of dollars in basic allotment, or state funds that help finance public education based on the district’s attendance.
“When you start seeing a drop in enrollment, you’ll subsequently see a drop in your federal funding as well,” said Michael Doyle, San Marcos CISD executive director of business and finance.
Two-minute impact
Community Impact analyzed student enrollment and transfer data from the Texas Education Agency, U.S. Census Bureau, and Hays and San Marcos CISDs.
Data shows that more students are choosing to transfer to charter or private schools, a homeschool group, or another district each year.
In HCISD, TEA data shows that over 3,000 students transferred out of the district during the 2023-24 school year, with over 2,000 of them choosing to attend one of three area charter schools: Doral Academy of Texas in Buda, IDEA Public Schools in Kyle and Valor Education in Kyle.
“We are really happy with the fact that the admins, school teachers [and] librarians know my kids, and communication is amazing,” said Sinwoo Choi, the parent of a second grader and fifth grader at Doral.
According to TEA data, SMCISD has seen a nearly 65% increase in students transferring out of the district from 2013-14 to 2023-24 school year.
The largest number of students are transferring into neighboring Wimberley ISD and IDEA Public Schools in Kyle, according to TEA data.
Doyle said SMCISD has seen students move to Idea Public Schools in Kyle but thinks the distance from San Marcos keeps more students from transferring.
“I guess for me personally, the concern is because there is a lack of charters in our area, there soon will be charters in our area,” Doyle said.
The big picture
Census Bureau data indicates the population of school-aged children living within HCISD boundaries has increased each year since 2020.
Additionally, over 3,000 students within these boundaries were not enrolled in the district for the 2022-23 school year.
Enrollment has stagnated in SMCISD over the past 10 years, and 2022 Census Bureau data shows a decline in the school-aged population.
If HCISD and SMCISD are unable to capture more students zoned for its district, thousands of dollars will continue to be lost, leading to long-term financial effects.
“If we’re seeing students unenroll in our program or unenroll in our district and go somewhere else; because we’re having a slow growth rate, that is another thing that hurts our district,” Doyle said.
What they’re saying
Parents are choosing to enroll their children in charter or private schools for a variety of reasons.
Kaaren Bell is the parent of a Doral seventh grader who was formerly an HCISD student. Bell said they opted for a charter school due to its teacher-student ratio and STEM-based curriculum, which focuses on science, technology, engineering, and math subjects. Bell also said she had drug and bullying concerns within Hays.
Doral Principal Jennifer DeSousa said another draw is that students do not have to be “zoned” to attend Doral, unlike public schools.
“It’s bringing in equitable education and making sure that kids in special populations or different economic disadvantages are given the same access and equity no matter what side of town they’re on,” DeSousa said.
Local San Marcos Baptist Academy has seen a 28% increase in its total student enrollment since the 2018-19 school year, according to SMA Senior Vice President Bob Wiegand.
J Freeman, Student Advocate for Katherine Anne Porter School in Wimberley said the public enrollment charter school has plans to grow its campus to accommodate more students.
“Most of the students we are seeing enroll are fleeing from campuses that have hateful communities... frankly, our school is a bit of a safe haven,” Freeman said.
The takeaway
HCISD Superintendent Eric Wright said that for each student who transfers out of the district, their basic allotment of $6,160 goes with them.
“I still have to pay 100% of all the teacher salaries and electricity and everything else, but I’ll lose that revenue that that student was generating,” Wright said. “... It’s harmful overall, and it causes us to have to dip into our reserves to make up the difference.”
Doyle describes students transferring out of the district as having a “domino effect” on the budget.
“Enrollment is not the factor that our funding is determined upon,” Doyle said. “It is your average daily attendance. Now, you can’t get average daily attendance unless you have students enrolled.”
SMCISD has a budget deficit of $26 million for the 2023-24 school year, and early calculations indicate there will be up to a $16 million budget shortfall in the next school year, according to district officials.
“We’re not on an island; every school district is sitting in the same position that we are. They’re facing large deficits,” Doyle said.
Andrew Fernandez, SMCISD Chief of Communications, said the district is investing money into various initiatives including safety and security, adding new programs and career readiness opportunities.
“We're doing the best we can. We understand it's an uphill battle, but we hope our families feel comfortable and feel safe and feel like they're getting a good quality education here in San Marcos,” Fernandez said.
