Student enrollment at Marshall and Willowridge high schools is far below their respective capacities, and neither school is expected to see a big influx of students in coming years, according to a report issued by a demographic consulting agency for Fort Bend ISD.

The 2016-17 enrollment at Marshall High School was 1,225, well below its capacity of 2,466 students. The 2016-17 enrollment at Willowridge High School was 1,311, and its capacity is 2,184.

Enrollment at both schools is expected to increase only slightly in the coming years. The report issued by Population and Survey Analysts predicts Marshall’s enrollment to increase from 1,225 in 2016 to 1,339 in 2026, while Willowridge’s enrollment is expected to increase from 1,311 in 2016 to 1,405 in 2026.

The dearth of students at the two schools allowed the district to move Willowridge students to Marshall when that school had to be closed down and cleaned due to the mold that was found there over the summer.

“These schools have had low enrollment for years,” said Justin Silhavy, director of demographic projections at PASA. “There could be several reasons for this.”

Willowridge, for example, is in an older neighborhood, and these families no longer have high school-aged children, Silhavy said. The neighborhood is also not attracting as many incoming families with high school students.

In contrast, Marshall is located in a more geographically constrained area, Silhavy said.

“It’s kind of on the border of the district,” he said. “You don’t have as many areas to pull from.”

Additionally, the number of charter schools in the region is growing, and that also pulls students from traditional school districts, Silhavy said.

Lower-level FBISD schools near Marshall and Willowridge are under capacity as well.

Quail Valley Middle School was 21 percent below capacity in 2016, and that school’s enrollment is expected to drop in half by 2026, according to the report. With a capacity of 1,555, the school is predicted to be almost 61 percent empty by 2026.

However, it is important to note the projections for Quail Valley Middle School only account for students who live within the attendance zone, FBISD spokesperson Amanda Bubela said.

The middle school also houses the Quail Valley Gifted and Talented Academy. Students enrolled in the gifted and talented program may not live within the geographic boundaries of the school and therefore may not be accounted for in those projections, Bubela said. Programs like this one may be moved from a school that is “overutilized” to one that is “underutilized,” she said.

“Schools are considered adequately utilized as long as enrollment falls between 80 to 120 percent of the building’s capacity,” Bubela said. “We use these projections to ensure that we offer the best possible learning environments while also efficiently utilizing our buildings.”

Based on the 2017 demographics report, growth is concentrated in the west and southeast parts of the district, Bubela said. The report, coupled with growth along the Grand Parkway corridor, led the school district to begin the process of designing another elementary school in the Aliana community.