Crowley Independent School District administrators told the Board of Trustees on Aug. 27 that early enrollment for the 2025–26 school year shows modest growth and that the district has a multi-step “leveling” process to balance class sizes and reassign students where necessary.
“our overall enrollment for the beginning of the school year as of yesterday, August 27, 25, is 16,845 students,” district staff member Betsy Batiste said during the presentation. Batiste later corrected an earlier figure in the slide set and noted, “this year, we are at the 16,680 students,” reflecting numbers presented in a three-year comparison.
Batiste provided grade-band figures and pending applications: she said elementary enrollment was 7,893 students, secondary enrollment 8,952 students, and that the district had a pending list (Ms. Batiste referenced in discussion that a pending figure was approximately 697 and that almost 200 of those are pre-K applicants).
District administrators described the operational steps they take after initial enrollment: they begin a leveling process on the second day of school after rosters are cleared, dropping students who did not return and reviewing attendance daily; elementary grade-level closures are assessed by the third day when class ratios are exceeded; and secondary schedule adjustments occur during the first 10 days of school while new students continue to be enrolled. Batiste said balancing class sections and moving teachers is an ongoing process during the early weeks of the term.
Trustees asked about the pending applications and whether the district has seats and staff to serve additional students. Batiste said there is building capacity in some campuses but that adding seats depends on teacher availability. When Trustee Jean W. Davis asked what share of pending applicants typically complete enrollment, Batiste said, “It's typically around 90% once they get all their paperwork in and their shot records and all of our documents that we're asking for.”
The board did not take formal action on the enrollment report; the presentation was informational only.
The superintendent and trustees publicly recognized district staff who completed the leveling work and noted the team shortened a process that used to take about three weeks to roughly a week and a half this year.