by Nicole Bradford
The April 8 solar eclipse was a grand educational opportunity for families who traveled to the path of totality.
But the outcome will be less helpful for Texas school districts that held classes April 8, since daily attendance is a factor in school district funding.
“We were about 89 percent attendance (April 8) when we’re normally 95 to 96,” Pearland ISD Superintendent Larry Berger reported during an initial budget discussion on April 9. “Every mark of attendance is money that’s taken out of our budget.”
Schools are funded based on average daily attendance, and PISD’s 95.8 percent has been the norm for several years.
“We are hoping to get back to pre-pandemic levels, which was 96.5 to 97, but that hasn’t happened yet,” Berger said.
Enrollment — also a factor in funding — has plateaued for Pearland ISD. Each year, the district is graduating more seniors — nearly 600 this May — than it has children entering kindergarten.
Under construction at 2468 Broadway St. is the International Leadership of Texas, a free public charter school that’s already taking applications for the 2024-2025 school year.
It is unclear, Berger said, what impact the new campus will have on Pearland ISD enrollment.
“We are projected to have 20,915 students enrolled in 2025,” Berger said, “so this number could decrease depending on how many Pearland ISD students decide to enroll (at the charter school.”
Even so, the decrease of PISD’s current 21,237 students to 20,915 in the coming school year equals $1.2 million in lost revenue.
“About every 100 students we lose is $616,000 in funding on average,” he said.
On the brighter side, PISD accepts and receives transfer students from other districts, and some families have opted to double up in homes due to economic conditions.
The district will hold another budget workshop in May, along with a public hearing and a proposed pay plan.
