Declining Enrollment Could See Amarillo ISD Merging Schools

So recently we explored the best public schools in Amarillo based on their given grades. There were 18 of them that received a B or higher.

One of the factors that was involved in those grades and rankings were how fast the schools were growing. It's something that can negatively impact the students if they're growing too quickly as class sizes get too large and teachers can't give the attention needed per student to help them.

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However, there is one thing they DIDN'T look at, and that is declining enrollment at the schools. It's a problem that is staring AISD in the face right now, and the implications of it could really affect not only the students, but the teachers as well.

School Board President Doyle Corder recently pointed out that there are 5,000 less students in the AISD system as there were just eight years ago. That's an average of 625 students lost per year.

So how does this affect things? First off, finances within the school district. Some of these schools are operating at only 50 percent capacity, but that doesn't mean the bills for the school get cut in half. Sure, they keep less lights on when it comes to classrooms, but there are other factors to take in.

The school board had a meeting to begin discussing how they are going to remedy the situation, and one of the things that came up was merging some of the schools. One of the schools mention particularly was Landergin Elementary.

Landergin's PTO president offered up other options, one of those options was redrawing the attendance zone lines. This would put more kids in the Landergin school zone and bring more students into the school.

The district talked about considering a bond proposition, or a tax ratification election. Either one of these things would increase the funding for the school, allowing it more money for maintenance and operations.

It's still in the early stages of what will happen, but there are definitely some changes coming for AISD.