COUPLAND — As concerns spread among policymakers about declining enrollment in Texas public schools, Coupland Independent School District officials said local attendance is projected to increase.
During a hearing last week before the state House Committee on Public Education, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath sounded a warning that public-school attendance statewide is down 76,000 students from 2025 and is anticipated to keep shrinking.
However, during a Coupland ISD board meeting May 14, Superintendent Earl Parcell shared a rosier picture at the local level, with attendance looking to rise.
Mid-year enrollment for the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade district reached 328 students but has since dropped to 320, which is the number the district ended with during the 2024-25 school year, he said.
Still, he added, “Projected enrollment for the 2026-27 school year is 364 (students).”
Parcell noted the district will lose some eighth graders who chose not to attend the new Coupland Junior High and High School opening this August because they wanted to play baseball, which is not a current elective at the campus.
Parcell said he remains optimistic about the district’s future.
During the Austin hearing last week, Morath said campus enrollment is continuing to drop, shrinking from 5,544,255 in 2025 to 5,467,642 in 2026, according to the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The figures represent a reduction of almost 77,000 students or 1.4%, Morath told lawmakers.
The school board will next meet 6 p.m. June 11 in the school library, 620 Commerce St.
