Ysleta ISD’s shrinking student population to stabilize
The Ysleta Independent School District’s population won’t grow by much over the next couple of years, but it won’t shrink either.
YISD hired Templeton Demographics firm and Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. to research the demographics of the district, as well as assess it’s aging facilities.
Templeton, out of Southlake, Texas, tracked every single student to gauge where the population is and where the district is losing it. It found that since 2011, YISD lost 1077 students, bringing its population to 43, 063. One factor mentioned with the high amount of private schools in the district.
They also found 3,721 students come from outside the district, due to YISD’s open enrollment policy.
According to the study, the district is set to lose 124 student next year, dropping below 43,000 students. It will lose 251 students over 5 years. By the 2018-2019 school year, YISD should have 42, 812 students.
However, it’s expected to grow by 515 students in between 2018 and 2023. After that five year span, it should have 43,578 students.
The study reveals 7 out of 22 elementary schools in the district are operating at less that 50 percent capacity.
The Jacobs firm, based in El Paso, found 70 percent of the district’s 226 buildings are older than 25 years. Many are at or near the end of their useful life. The firm estimates the district will need $233.4 million to repair these over 5 years, or $1.3 billion to replace aging schools.
“I’m actually somewhat encouraged by the enrollment data,” said Superintendent Xavier De La Torre. “The enrollment data seems to indicate what the district lost in the last five year period, that it has stabilized some, it has plateau.”
El Paso ISD is also moving to open enrollment next school year. De La Torre said he does not believe it will effect these projections, and the Templeton firm did not account for the new EPISD policy in their study.
De La Torre also said it’s too early to consider consolidating schools operating at less than 50 percent capacity.
De La Torre said the findings will help the board decide whether the district should move forward with a bond election. It is considering asking district voters to approve $155 million in debt to help repair aging facilities.
