The state funds school districts through a per student allotment that is based on average daily attendance, not enrollment. Through CISD’s campaign, officials have increased attendance rates and generated $500,000 in revenue this school year, Chief Communications Officer Angela Brown said at the Feb. 24 board meeting.
“This campaign allows us to support families and to encourage habits that benefit students and the district as a whole,” Brown said.
Some context
CISD’s battle with inflation, dipping enrollment, underfunded mandates and a state funding plateau led the district to close Pinkerton Elementary last year and call a voter-approval tax rate election, or VATRE in November, which failed to pass.
In January, officials projected a nearly $8.7 million shortfall for fiscal year 2024-25 and an $18.7 million shortfall by fiscal year 2027-28. Budget projections starting in FY 2025-26 and beyond include the over $2 million saved by closing Pinkerton Elementary and consolidating two school programs.
The details
District officials began focusing on declining attendance in the 2023-24 school year and developed supports for implementation in the 2024-25 school year with the goal of raising attendance rate to 97%.
In the 2023-24 school year, the average attendance rate was 95.85%, meaning that 557 students missed each day, according to district documents. This equates to around $24,000 in funding lost each day or $4.2 million for the year.
Efforts included a marketing campaign through social media, newsletters and presentations to parents and staff, Brown said. Officials created an online dashboard to track attendance analytics and streamlined the absence form process, which allows families to submit doctor's notes more easily. Absences due to doctor's appointments do not detract from state revenue so the more forms submitted, the more the district can mitigate funding loss.
Officials also established a monetary incentive program to reward campuses that raise attendance rates. The funds given to campuses were from revenue generated by improved attendance rates.
Since implementing the initiatives, the average daily attendance rate districtwide has increased to around 96.8% and the Canyon Ranch Elementary, Coppell Middle School North, Coppell Middle School West and Coppell High School 9th Grade Center campuses have surpassed 97% as of Jan. 8. This has generated around $500,000 in revenue for the district for the first 12 weeks of the school year, Brown said. While the amount could increase if the attendance rate is maintained, officials anticipate a dip in attendance rate as January and February are typically the lowest attended months due to winter illnesses.
The impact
From 2018 to 2020, the district's attendance rate maintained at 96.7% and dropped to 95.4% in 2022 after serving students remotely in 2021, according to district documents. This 1.3% drop reduced state funding by nearly $1 million. During the eclipse day on April 8, 2024, attendance plummeted to 88% which led to a loss of $54,000 for that day alone, Brown said.
If every student missed two fewer days during the school year the district could receive an additional $1.3 million to cover costs like classroom materials, teacher salaries and other operational expenses, Brown said.
Additionally, students who miss two days a month or around 20 days a year equate to missing 30 hours of math instruction and 40 hours of reading and writing instruction. If this was repeated each year, a student could miss a year and a half of instruction by graduation. Missing four days a month doubles these figures, according to district documents. A student in any grade level may not be given credit or a final grade if their attendance dips below 90% for that class, which is around 17 absent days.
“It's not only the academic piece, but it also affects their social and emotional well being. We just want to make sure our parents understand how important it is for our kids to be here for learning,” Superintendent Brad Hunt said.
Going forward
The Feb. 24 presentation was a mid-year check in and while it's still early to start setting goals for next school year, officials are confident they can reach 97%, Hunt said. Once the semester concludes, staff will take time to reflect with administrators and outline further strategies going into the 2025-26 school year.
“We want our kids in school because we love them, we want to see them, they learn best here and yes the funding does come from [attendance] and why wouldn’t we turn over every rock to get as much funding as we can,” Hunt said.
