Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

Mansfield school enrollment growth slows down

By EVA-MARIE AYALA

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

STAR-TELEGRAM/BRUCE MAXWELL

Braeden Reed, 7, is the first through the obstacle course as students at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School celebrated top sales in a cookie dough fundraiser with a bounce house party Thursday.

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MANSFIELD -- The Mansfield school district's enrollment continued to increase this year -- but the district unexpectedly lost students throughout the school year.

"It is very unusual for us," said Claude Cunningham, associate superintendent of curriculum. "I suspect the bad economy and housing market play a role."

Enrollment in most Texas school districts peaks in September or October and decreases steadily as students drop out or graduate or families move away.

The Mansfield district has long been one of the fastest-growing in the state, increasing by double-digit percentage rates in recent years. The district typically sees its enrollment climb throughout the year. The annual growth continued this year, peaking in September, but students began leaving the district after the start of the school year.

In April 2007, enrollment was 27,933 students.

The district's enrollment reached 29,753 students in September, then dropped to 29,433 last month.

"This is the first time in a long time that we've seen this," Mansfield board president Dan Phillips said. "It's like we're a normal district, which allows us to breathe on growth. Of course, if the numbers come back lower than we need them next year, we may be in a bind."

Almost normal

Mansfield officials decided to make a conservative estimate of an 8 percent growth rate for this year.

Instead, the district had about 6 percent more students this year than last.

The state funds public schools based on enrollment numbers, so predicting enrollment accurately is crucial.

Mansfield expected to have nearly 550 more students than actually enrolled, and the district was short about $3.5 million in funding from the state that had to be made up from other funds.

Next year officials said, they will be even more conservative in enrollment estimates. They expect to have 31,122 students by October, which is just under 5 percent growth.

Other fast-growth districts

The Keller district had a slight decrease in its enrollment throughout the school year, mirroring its usual pattern. Enrollment dropped off in the high school grades as students graduated or left for other reasons while the elementary and intermediate schools saw continuous growth.

But Jeff Baker, Keller's planning and security director, said he was surprised after looking at this year's first-quarter housing start totals.

"They were drastically down," he said. "A lot more than we ever thought we'd see it at this point in time."

While the crisis in the housing market will affect next year's enrollment to some extent, Baker said all of the new housing developments are built out but one. Also, several apartments are being planned along Interstate 35W. He expects many families who face foreclosure to move to those apartments within the district.

Meanwhile, enrollment in the two fastest-growing districts in the area continues to increase.

The Northwest school district added students, even up to the beginning of this week. It has grown from 11,684 in August to 11,965 on Monday. Its growth rate is nearly 5 percent over last school year.

Eagle Mountain-Saginaw continued to grow through February, when enrollment reached 14,254 students. That district grew about 12 percent over last year.

Voters on Saturday will decide whether to approve bond packages for new schools in both those districts.

Mansfield's growth slows

The school district saw an increase in student enrollment over last year, but lost students each month. Officials said that's unusual for the fast-growth district.

Source: Mansfield school district.