Enrollment at Georgetown ISD could increase by more than 3,100 students over the next five years, according to projections from Zonda, which delivered its latest demographics report to the GISD board of trustees Dec. 12.
The district received an additional 752 students across all grade levels during the 2021-22 school year. Zonda then forecasted in March that the GISD could grow by another 1,001 students, or 7.9%, for the 2022-23 school year and 854 students, or 6.3%, for 2023-24.
However, GISD’s enrollment growth for the current school year finished at 546 students. Bob Templeton, vice president of the school district segment at Zonda, attributes the downtick from the original forecast to higher interest rates on mortgages, an increase in the time it took to build new homes and a rise in homebuyer cancellations.
The interest rate on a 30-year mortgage in spring 2022 was 3.5% with an average monthly house payment of $1,905, according to Zonda. By the fall, interest rates had risen to 7%, driving the average monthly house payment up to $2,765—an increase of 45.15%.
