The only school in Terrell County suffered a drop in enrollment numbers in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.
There were 117 students in the halls of Sanderson Schools, 9.3% lower than the year before.
The enrollment numbers in Terrell County fell short of the state’s trend of increasing enrollment.
Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 55.6% of the students were girls, and 44.4% were boys.
Data also showed that most of the students were Hispanic, representing 53.8% of the total enrollment in Sanderson Schools.
Sanderson Schools has a main office in Sanderson and is the only school within Terrell County.
A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.
Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state’s school districts. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.
“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock stated in an interview.
| School | Total Enrollment in 2022-23 | Total Enrollment in 2023-24 | Total % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanderson Schools | 129 | 117 | -9.3% |
