A demographic consultant presented to the EAST CENTRAL ISD board a long-range enrollment and facilities analysis that tied rapid student growth to new housing and local birth rates and recommended a phased plan to add school capacity over the next decade.

The consultant said the district gained about 1,350 students over the past five years (through 2024) and described EAST CENTRAL as in a "high growth" phase for Region 20. The presentation showed that about 14% of district-resident children attend charter schools and roughly 11% attend other districts; the consultant warned that new charter campuses can immediately pull students from nearby EAST CENTRAL attendance areas.

Housing market presenter Susan said rising mortgage rates reduced recent construction but that newly built houses are currently being occupied by young families: "We really need to get that rate below 6% to reactivate our housing mortgage," she said, and cited a regional median home price of $269,000.

Under the consultant's forecast scenarios, one projection estimates roughly 30,000 enrolled students in 10 years (about two and a half times current enrollment). The consultant repeatedly cautioned the board that the plan reflects one set of assumptions and is not a final or board-approved boundary map: "This is one potential plan, that is based only on how many students we're projecting," they said, urging trustees that assumptions and projections will change.

To relieve projected overcrowding at the elementary level, the consultant recommended opening the school identified as "Victory" next fall and then phasing openings in the North (elementary #10, potentially 2027–28), additional elementary sites (elementary #11–#14) and later middle- and high-school capacity (Valor and eventually high school #3). The consultant also highlighted program-driven constraints — for example, Oakcrest's dual-language program currently concentrates about 350 students and affects how boundaries could be drawn to relieve overcrowding.

The presentation included maps that link projected student growth concentrations to new housing corridors (Far North, the Sulphur Springs corridor and Far South) and noted two potential Mater Academy charter campuses (fast-track approvals), the first of which was described as tentatively expected in 2027.

No board decisions or boundary approvals were made during the meeting. The consultant and staff left next steps to district leadership and the board to consider timing, program implications and site criteria when moving from analysis to any formal boundary or construction actions.