FRISCO ISD -

FRISCO ISD -

Sustainability Plan Update

Sustainability Plan Update: Enrollment Trends Shape Frisco ISD’s Facility Decisions

Frisco ISD

November 10, 2026

This week, Frisco ISD leaders shared a substantial update to the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, including new demographic projections, transfer enrollment and facility planning.

The Sustainability Plan was developed in response to a decline in enrollment and revenue, to sustainably move the District forward while still meeting the needs of over 61,000 students.

Monday’s update, shared at a Board of Trustees workshop, reflects the District's ongoing efforts to plan for these changes.

Discussion about the Sustainability Plan comes as the 98-member Bond Planning Committee continues working to identify District needs and build a possible bond program for May.

Kimberly Smith, deputy superintendent for business and operations, reiterated that facility planning discussions — which may include future school closures — are happening at the same time but are unrelated to bond needs such as critical system replacements.

“Our capital plan to maintain the facilities that we do have is nearing the end of the capital money available,” Smith said. “We have a responsibility to make sure that the 61,000 students that go to school here are going to school in safe and appropriate environments.”

Enrollment projections

Like most public school districts in Texas, Frisco ISD has been experiencing enrollment decline over the past several years. In the 2025-26 school year, enrollment in school districts across the state was about 87,000 students less than the year before.

Frisco ISD enrollment peaked at 67,612 students in March 2023. New demographic projections estimate enrollment will continue a steady decline in the years to come.

External demographer PASA (Population and Survey Analysts) cited a few key reasons for this decline:

  • Larger senior classes graduating as smaller kindergarten classes enter. This school year, Frisco ISD has 5,600 seniors and 3,000 kindergarteners. As that smaller group of young students ages and doesn’t grow substantially, FISD gains fewer students than it loses.

  • Declining student yields in existing and new homes. Student density per square mile is declining as neighborhoods mature, households remain in place after children graduate, and interest rates remain high.

  • Expanding educational options. Charter, private and virtual schools enrolled over 6,500 students within Frisco ISD boundaries in 2025-26. Homeschool participation cannot be measured as precisely, but current estimates provided by PASA place participation among Texas students at 6%-10%.

PASA emphasized that these trends are being seen statewide, not just in Frisco ISD.

Even amid the decline, demographers noted Frisco ISD’s strong percentage of resident students. About 90% of school-age children living within District boundaries attend its schools, compared to about 85% statewide — a point of pride even as families have more educational choices than ever.

Access Frisco and transfer updates: One of the brightest spots in Frisco ISD’s enrollment story has been the success of the District’s transfer programs, and in particular, Access Frisco.

In only its second year as a program and its first year expanding to high school, Access Frisco has grown to 1,230 students, up from 272 students in 2025-26. Access Frisco provides students outside Frisco ISD boundaries the opportunity to attend District schools with capacity, as well as a pathway to graduation.

Legacy Transfers, which enable students who previously lived in the District to continue attending their school after moving, have added 994 students.

Those two transfer options alone have added over 2,000 students — which, based on the state’s funding formula, generates about $20 million in revenue. This revenue has helped offset declines in resident student enrollment and revenue, as well as rising operational costs.

Albert Leal, managing director of Student Services, acknowledged that attracting and retaining students is ongoing work. He said community engagement and communication are key.

“We want to participate in more opportunities to answer questions, for them to ask questions — anything we can do to support them by connecting with our team, to help them get enrolled,” Leal said. “That’s ultimately our task, to help connect those families who are not currently enrolled, get enrolled, both inside and out of district.”

Because enrollment numbers have a direct impact on campus utilization, these updates to projections and transfer numbers will be an important piece of long-term facility planning.

Facility planning

To guide future decision making, the Sustainability Plan assesses campus utilization by geographic sectors using current enrollment and five-year projections. By analyzing data by sector rather than school, the District is balancing student numbers with other considerations.

“We don’t want people’s eyes to be drawn directly to a school with the lowest enrollment,” Smith said. “There are a lot of things that we need to consider, like what programs the school has, proximity to various neighborhoods and other schools within that area.”

Because this analysis is relatively new, the District will continue monitoring trends before making decisions about possible school closures.

At the Board workshop as well as Bond Planning Committee meetings, Smith has sought to reassure the Frisco ISD community that major capital investments will not be poured into schools that may close.

To that end, District leaders have proposed a Bond Oversight Committee made up of current committee members who would oversee capital spending if a 2027 bond were to be called and passed by voters.

However, necessary repairs and system updates will continue at any campus that needs them. Frisco ISD will ensure all students have safe, functional schools with reliable HVAC, plumbing and other essential systems, regardless of enrollment.

New project: The District is also beginning a Real Property Master Plan, a coordinated evaluation of the best long-term use of District facilities and land assets to support financial sustainability.

The Real Property Master Plan will help guide decisions about facilities and land no longer needed. Factors under consideration will be enrollment, facility capacity and utilization, condition and costs, location and market condition, and community priorities.

Staley Middle School: Staley Middle School closed in May 2026 as a result of District-wide middle school enrollment decline and the costly underground plumbing replacement needed to keep the building operational. Since then, the District has evaluated options for the property, concluding in a recommendation made Monday that the building be demolished.

Alternative options for the site are either logistically not ideal or too costly. Repurposing the site would require a substantial capital investment and ongoing maintenance costs, without an identified District program or operational need for the facility.

Selling could generate one-time revenue; however, a sale would introduce a third-party property owner into an existing Frisco ISD educational complex — Staley is surrounded by FISD’s Student Opportunity Center, Annex, Kuykendall Stadium, Hall of Honor and Natatorium.

The Board of Trustees took no action on the Staley recommendation at Monday’s workshop.

What’s next

Frisco ISD will continue to provide updates on the Sustainability Plan throughout the year. Find upcoming Board meetings on the District calendar.

Resources

Sustainability Plan

Transparency tools

Bond Planning Committee updates