ISD 709 enrollment rises above budget; some schools report space strain

ISD 709 reported to the HR Business Services Committee on Sept. 8 that the district’s current enrollment is 8,272.88 students, above the budgeted 8,099 for the 2025–26 school year. “We budgeted for 8,099 students,” the committee chair said, and “we are at 8,272.88 students. So we are above where we budgeted for.” District leaders said the higher enrollment represents gains across grade levels, with the largest increases in grades eight, eleven and twelve. Superintendent Magus told the committee that some schools are experiencing capacity strain: “If we think about Myers Wilkins, with the switch of immersion there, we have Homecroft, which went from being one of our smallest schools to now it's our third largest,” she said, and added that Lester Park “is well over 500 students now.” The superintendent noted that even when additional teachers are added, a lack of classroom space is becoming an operational concern: “Some of the larger class sizes, even if we're adding teachers, we do not have classrooms for them.” Committee members also asked whether on‑site registration events such as Unity in the Community had been included in the enrollment totals; the staff answered that those registrations were not yet reflected. Committee members and staff said they will continue monitoring month‑to‑month enrollment and building capacity. No formal action was taken at the meeting.