Leander ISD opening enrollment to out-of-district students for first time

Leander ISD accepting out-of-district applications

Leander ISD is just one district that is opening up enrollment for students who don't live in the district.

LEANDER, Texas - Many Central Texas school districts are trying to find ways to bring in more students as they deal with budget shortfalls and declining enrollment. 

Leander ISD is just one district that is opening up enrollment for students who don't live in the district.

What they're saying:

"This is a great opportunity for us to increase our enrollment and provide a better education for more kids in the Central Texas area," Chris Clark, acting superintendent of Leander ISD, said. 

This is the first time open enrollment is happening at LISD, aside from children of employees being able to transfer. 

Students have to be in good standing to be accepted. 

Clark says several factors could go into low enrollment, including high housing costs.

"Public education, we are in a very competitive environment," he said. "Not only is Leander ISD pursuing out-of-district transfers, many districts are, especially those surrounding us. So there's almost a competition for enrolling students that are interested in moving or trying something different," he said.

"We think we are the best, I think a lot of our school districts are great here, don't get me wrong, but we provide a quality service, if students are so inclined, we want them to come here and be part of our school family, our district family," Clark said.

Dig deeper:

Last year, LISD considered closing two schools.

Faubion Elementary is the only one that will close for now and will be consolidated with Westside Elementary.

Steiner Ranch will stay open but will be monitored for enrollment trends.  

"Some of the schools that were being considered for closure, part of the decision to not close them was to allow the opportunity for outside of district transfers to help fill empty seats," Clark said.

Clark says, in theory, open enrollment could prevent schools from having to close later on, but it depends on how many transfers they get. 

"We're in a learning situation. I don't anticipate a huge number in our first year, but I do anticipate this could grow over a period of time," he said.

What you can do:

Not every campus is open for transfer applications. You can apply for ones that are not at full capacity.

For transfer information and a look at each school's capacity, click here.

The application window for transfers started in February and will run until May 29. April 1 is when in-district enrollment starts. 

For more information and to apply, click here.