Plano ISD’s head count is running more than 2,500 students below last school year’s October tally, a decline that district leaders say will force spending adjustments later this fall.
Deputy Superintendent Johnny Hill told the Board of Trustees on Sept. 8 that enrollment as of Sept. 4 stood at 41,303 students across all grade levels, Community Impact reported. That compares with 43,838 students in October of the previous school year.
The Sept. 4 figure is higher than the first day of school on Aug. 11, when enrollment was 39,077, but it remains below a demographer’s projection of 41,830 for this school year, according to Community Impact’s account of Hill’s presentation.
Where the declines are concentrated
Community Impact reported that the steepest year-over-year drops were in fourth grade (down 362 students) and 12th grade (down 327). Eleventh grade was nearly flat, down 20 students, and sixth grade was the only level to grow, adding 17 students compared with the 2025 count.
Plano ISD’s total enrollment has fallen every year since peaking at 55,659 in the 2011-12 school year, Community Impact reported.
Hill said he would be “shocked” if the district closed the full 527-student gap between the Sept. 4 count and the demographer’s projection, but he expects some additional growth through the end of October, according to the Community Impact report.
Budget impact
Texas public schools receive state funding tied largely to attendance. Hill told trustees the district receives roughly $10,000 per student, depending on student characteristics, Community Impact reported.
