AISD hosts special meeting with city, county to address low enrollment

The Amarillo Independent School District, in collaboration with the Potter County Commissioners' Court and the Amarillo City Council, hosted a special board meeting to address their declining enrollment and strategies for potential solutions Monday evening at AmTech.

As stated during the meeting by AISD Board of Trustees, the district is facing declining enrollment in its Potter County schools affected by overall declining birth rates, an aging Potter County population, lack of new housing in the area, and a rise in home schooling, among other attributing factors.

As stated during the board meeting, AISD currently has a district-wide enrollment of 29,771 students, a 12% decline of 3,902 students since 2015.

"I say it all the time, that kids sit on this tripod stool, and we have parents, educators and community members and we are all working in the same direction to support that. If our community says 70-year-old buildings in what we want our kids going to school in and this is why, and we are all in it together, I am absolutely all for that, just as I would be on the other side if all the stakeholders were to redesign what school buildings look like in Amarillo and building that together," said AISD Superintendent Doug Loomis.

During the meeting, the AISD board discussed some possible solutions to these factors, including changing of boundaries; a voter approved tax ratification election; program or department reductions; public/private partnership creating neighborhood schools; and a bond election.

Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley spoke about the AISD situation and the plans the Amarillo City Council has going forward to address these issues.

“It was a good meeting, but it was a meeting where you come in knowing that you will identify more problems than solutions,” Stanley said. “Today's meeting was a lot about finding the next step, how we can come together as co-leaders across the city to address this issue.”

Stanley said that the most surprising detail out of the meeting for the public was the birth rate decline in the region.

“I think we do take that for granted and (it's) not something we understand easily,” he said.

Looking over possible solutions to increase school-age population in the city, some members of the discussion posed the possibility of bringing in new businesses on the north side of town to encourage population growth in the area. Stanley surmised that much of the issue is not necessarily bringing new business to Amarillo, because when those new residents come, they live in many different parts of the area.

“Every new business that we bring here does not always correlate to living in the part of time that would benefit AISD,” he added.

With four school districts within Potter County all servicing students, Stanley emphasized that many of the boundaries have been in place for over a century.

“I think going forward, we need to look at more than one solution that fixes everything. Let us find 20 different solutions that all benefit and bring us closer to the goal of promoting Amarillo and growing in a healthy way to continue to look out for one of our biggest assets, which is our school district."

Addressing the lack of affordable housing in the northern areas of the city, Stanley emphasized that construction costs, interest rates and rigid building standards been huge detriments in creating more housing.

“We need to look at affordable housing, by what is the market and what is the demand and are our codes and standards really restricting new construction to our detriment,” Stanley said.

Getting a greater handle on crime in the community, Stanley emphasized, is a key to getting more people to move and live in some areas of the city.

“We have a strong school board that is going to work for the best outcome for these students,” he said. "This board is aware that the decisions that they make today could have impacts, and they are actively reaching out to their local leaders and partners to find solutions. We appreciate the ability to collaborate to help work on a solution."

In previous meetings, AISD stated that its current budget is equipped to manage the current enrollment situation and maintaining of its facilities, but it stated in the upcoming years, a solution will need to be made.

"That timeline stays the same for us. We are constantly looking at staff and programs, versus the number of students, and we are looking at how to balance that between now and not next school year, but the following school year. We will have a legislative session, and as you heard today, it's not really about us raising taxes. It's about the formula that the state drives, and the legislature will have impact on that, as time is getting short. It doesn't mean it's imminent, and we will continue to look at all of those pieces and make the best decision we can," Loomis said.

Loomis stated that the district plans to host more of these meetings in the future to address and find the proper solution to this ongoing issue.

For more information about AISD, visit them online at https://www.amaisd.org/

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: AISD turns to city, county officials to resolve low enrollment issues