Amarillo ISD faces a significant challenge. Shifting demographics in the city have contributed to a 13% decline in enrollment over the past decade. The AISD Board of Trustees and District Administration have been evaluating the impact of these population shifts on local schools and looking for solutions.
Prominent Texas Economist Dr. Ray Perryman attributed the enrollment loss to the declining birth rate nationally combined with a population decrease in Potter County. Seventy percent of AISD’s 55 campuses are in Potter County, where the population has decreased by 2%. Meanwhile, in the same time period, the population in Randall County, where AISD has significantly fewer campuses, has grown by 17%. Perryman noted the enrollment downturn in Amarillo mirrors what’s going on in other urban hubs around the state, resulting in the need to make some difficult decisions regarding the number of schools the District operates. “There’s not enough students for the buildings. It’s not practical to operate old buildings that are half full. That is what it comes down to; The math just doesn’t work.”
The District has adopted a strategic plan to transition from a neighborhood school model to a community school model. When Amarillo first adopted the neighborhood school model, education was simpler; many schools were just one-room schoolhouses. As Amarillo grew, so did the expansion of neighborhood schools. The neighborhood model served the District well for generations until recent years when enrollment started declining.
Superintendent Doug Loomis said the District will likely need to consolidate some elementary campuses. “Amarillo isn’t immune to the demographic trends being seen across the state, but with careful planning, we can overcome these challenges.”
In March of 2023, the Board of Trustees created a 5-step guideline for consolidating elementary schools, which starts with placing schools that fall below 300-students on a watchlist. When a school drops below 250-students, a formal consideration is triggered for closing the building and consolidating with a paired campus beginning the next school year. The final decision to close a campus requires board approval.
Dr. Perryman said that despite financial challenges caused by the enrollment decline, AISD is one of a handful of school districts in the state to maintain a balanced budget, citing the District is doing a lot of things right.
“You start with a situation where this school district has over 70 percent of its students economically disadvantaged, yet it ranks in the top ten of the big school districts in the state. That is a district that has a lot of challenges to work with and yet people consistently perform. The building where this event was held (AmTech Career Academy) is probably the best career center in the state,” he explained. “There’s nothing more important to any community than its public education. Doing this kind of thing and going through this very difficult process is something that’s hard, but you come out in the end stronger.”
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