Enrollment history by the decade

Round Rock ISD was a small, rural school district with a student population under 1,000 students for the first sixty years of its existence. Although several smaller districts in the area consolidated with Round Rock ISD during the 1940s, a significant increase in student population did not occur since the land acquired was sparsely populated.

The district increased substantially in physical size again in December 1969 through its consolidation with the Pond Springs Common County Line School District. The consolidation added 24 square miles of largely undeveloped west-side real estate.

“White Flight” brings students north
Student enrollment grew steadily in the sixties and early seventies, and by the 1972-73 school year, enrollment reached 2,352 students. District publications attribute the increase to “sun belt fever”¹ and the opening of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation plant. The most significant increase, however, came as a result of “white flight” due to Austin ISD’s desegregation and crosstown busing of African American students starting in the mid 1970s. As the Austin American Statesman reported in November 28, 1976, 1,202 fewer Anglo students were enrolled in Austin ISD during the 1975-76 school year.² In the same article, Round Rock ISD Superintendent Noel Grisham acknowledged that Austin’s loss in white enrollment has benefited the Round Rock school system and that more students are attending Round Rock’s schools than ever. Grisham noted that this was partially due to “white flight” from Austin.

Four decades of steady growth
Student enrollment in Round Rock ISD continued to increase for the next several years, and by 1978, Round Rock ISD was the fastest growing school district in Texas – adding nearly 1,000 students per year. According to the Austin American Statesman, “the district has come to be seen as a refuge from school desegregation cases in Austin that might involve going to school with substantial numbers of blacks and Mexican-Americans with massive busing possibly necessary to achieve it.”³ Round Rock ISD began the decade with 1,689 students and added 7,547 additional students from 1970 through 1979.

Round Rock ISD’s enrollment pushed over the 10,000 student mark during the early 1980s. During that decade, the District added 8,462 students to total 18,881 students. The 1990s saw and increase of 10,310 students. The largest decade of student growth, however, came during the 2000s, when a total of 11,241 additional students enrolled in Round Rock ISD. This surge in students pushed the District over 40,000 students with a total enrollment of 42,777 students.

Growth slows
Round Rock ISD recorded increases of students that bested the previous decade during each of the past four decades. As of January 2020, the district’s enrollment is 51,058 ⁴ students. Growth during the 2010s will end this 40 year streak of adding more students than the previous decade. Increases in student enrollment during 2010-2019 is less than the “white flight” era of growth that started the district’s tremendous growth spurt during the 1970s. As of 2018, The Texas Education Agency no longer considers Round Rock ISD to be a “fast growth district.” ⁵

¹ Your School Board Welcomes you to the Meeting of the Board of Education. 1982-83. Round Rock Independent School District. p. 3.

² Garcia, Arnold Jr. (1976, November 28). Student enrollment drop raises ‘flight’ question. The Austin American Statesman, pp. A1, A17.

³ McNeely, Dave (1978, September 24). Academic quality, no busing boost Round Rock Schools. The Austin American Statesman, p. C5.

⁴ District Enrollment Reports

⁵ TEA Annual Report: Round Rock ISD

 

Enrollment Data:

09/26/95_grohist.pdf “Round Rock Independent School District Growth History 1965-1995.”

JC_Student Enrollment Growth.xls 1993-2018 PEIMS data report