The details
Several factors contribute to the reduction in student population, including declining birth rates within RISD boundaries.
“It’s important to note our demographer’s reporter is just one piece of data,” Superintendent Tabitha Branum said, adding the report is used for budgeting and analyzing staffing needs.
Currently, the RISD has nearly 37,000 students; however, a 10-year estimate shows nearly a 4,000 drop, according to a presentation by Georgia Leonard of MGT, the demographer used by the district.
Along with declining birth rates, Leonard said other factors contributing to the decline in students are lower mobility, and less new single family developments.
“This is a forecast so we don’t want people to get too grounded in what the data is,” Assistant Superintendent Sandra Hayes said. “They are predicting or forecasting potentially the number of kids that will be around our district.”
Zooming out
As a means to address the budget shortfalls that come with declining student populations and other factors such as rising operational costs, RISD staff is exploring inter-district transfer options to allow students that live outside district boundaries. Staff said if the policy is adopted, it would not solve the budget shortfall issue, but would help to bring in additional revenue. Additionally, staff said several school districts in the area such as Frisco ISD and Plano ISD already offer inter-district transfers.
Currently, RISD only offers inter-district transfer under limited circumstances such as employees of the district or cases where students become nonresidents during the school year.
If passed, applications for nonresidents will open April 17 and close May 17, according to a presentation to the board. Applicants would be screened for eligibility based on various criteria such as attendance, academic performance and more.
Additionally, nonresident students would need to reapply every year and families would be responsible for transportation.
Board members expressed concern about the policy, with some worrying that the revenue brought in by nonresident students would not offset marketing costs to attract them.
No decision was made at the meeting; however, Branum said staff would like to have direction from the board in March.
