Texas

Declining birth rates are testing North Texas school districts

Published

1 year ago

August 18, 2024

Declining birth rates are testing North Texas school districts

As public schools in North Texas begin a new school year, they are also adjusting to a new reality.

While the region boasts greater economic strength and is planning infrastructure for a growing population in the next decade, educators are seeing a different story — persistently lower student enrollment with all signs pointing to this as our future.

Richardson ISD has a student population of about 37,000 and is among the most diverse in North Texas. But it is already closing some elementary schools this year and is projecting a decrease of roughly 3,600 students over the next five years. Irving ISD lost about 4,000 students in the last decade. Dallas ISD, the largest school district in the region, lost about 18,000 students from 2012 to 2023.

Well, of course, you might think: Families are moving to Collin County for the schools. That’s true to a degree, but dig into the enrollment numbers and you find that Collin County suburbs are facing similar issues. There are just fewer children, and especially young children in these central parts of our region.

Plano is already facing enrollment decline. Frisco, the city where people move for the schools, is seeing a flattening of the curve in student population growth.

Over the past 12 years, Plano ISD has seen enrollment decrease by 7,750 students, a district spokesperson said. District trustees voted earlier this year to close four schools. And although Frisco ISD isn’t facing declining enrollment or school closures, the pearl of North Texas districts hasn’t been experiencing the explosive growth it saw over the last decade or so. Between 2024 and 2030, the district is projecting slower growth.

We can expect the trend to be steeper in Dallas. Between 2012 and 2022, the population of children under 5 years old in Dallas County decreased by 9.5%, and the number of children under 9 years old went down by 3%, census data shows.

North Texas public schools are adjusting to this new reality at a moment when traditional public schools are facing more competition and political pressure. Independent school districts are dealing with budget constraints. Meanwhile, a push for private school vouchers in Austin is gathering strength.

Many complex factors are involved in the enrollment numbers schools are seeing. But the major underlying cause is this — birth rates are declining.

But what about immigration, you might ask. A key demographic driving lower birth rates is Hispanics. In Texas, this trend began during the 2008 recession, Texas State Demographer Lloyd Potter told us.

“Hispanics, not only in Texas, but nationwide, are now a multigenerational population,” Potter said. “The Latino population is more likely to gain educational attainment, and more likely to enter the labor force later compared to their parents and grandparents. This results in delayed childbirth.”

In other words, don’t count on immigration to resolve the demographic decline that is affecting schools. North Texas is growing, but even with huge numbers of immigrant families living within the district boundaries of Dallas, Richardson and Plano ISDs, we are losing kids.

It’s important to stress that changing demographics are not the whole story. The pandemic, for example, had a profound effect on public school enrollment. Housing prices and school quality are also important factors.

Since 2019, the year before the pandemic, Dallas County school districts have lost 4% of their students, according to an analysis by the Commit Partnership, an education nonprofit.

In the same period, charter school enrollment grew by 10%, and the private school share of students in the county continues to grow. Nationwide, there is also a turn to homeschooling. Texas accounted for 6% of the total homeschool enrollment in 2024, up from 3% in 2023, according to a census analysis.

It’s unlikely, though, that even with children pulling off to charter, private and home schools, that this can account for the much lower traditional public school enrollment we are seeing. And that’s the demographic problem.

That means more school closures and consolidations are coming, even as public schools are having to compete harder for the kids they get. Superintendents and school boards are aware of this, and many are adjusting well, our view.

We stand by this statement: Dallas ISD is one of, if not the most, innovative urban school districts in the country. For years, the district has been taking important steps to continue to attract new students despite facing ongoing enrollment declines.

DISD, as well as other Dallas County districts, are now focused on implementing high-quality instructional materials — better standard curricula and actual books and workbooks — that we think are going to show better outcomes for all students. We already know there is far more school choice within DISD and inner-ring suburban districts so that parents don’t have to rely on a single neighborhood school that might not serve their child.

There are also a lot of bright spots outside of DISD, like Garland and Cedar Hill ISDs. Garland made consistent progress in algebra in the last few years, and Cedar Hill showed an above-average performance in reading and math in the latest STAAR scores.

All of this is good news for our local schools. But the administrators of these schools know that change is coming, and in many cases has already arrived.

The children just aren’t here the way they were. And there may be no changing that.

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com

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Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire pitches his solutions for college football’s calendar

Published

9 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire pitches his solutions for college football’s calendar

Joey McGuire has worn many hats over his career through the high school and college coaching ranks, but he’s looking to add a new one: Commissioner of fixing the college football calendar.

The fourth-year head coach jokingly offered his name up for the self-imposed fake title Wednesday during a media availability, but his frustration with the current format is real. He believes every team should play Week 0, that a champion should be crowned by Jan. 1 and bowl games should be invitationals set for Week 1.

McGuire’s team had a historic season, winning a Big 12 title and earning a bye in the College Football Playoff. Its reward is 26 days of non-compete before playing in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. McGuire loves it for player health. He hates it because it makes football a two-semester sport.

“Texas high school playoffs are playing 16 games, and they’re crowning a state champion this weekend. FCS has 24 teams in their playoff and they’re crowning a national champion on January 5,” McGuire said. “People are so stuck on traditions and all that. I get that, man. I’m a traditionalist 100%. But guess what? It’s changed.”

By finishing the season on Jan. 1, teams would be able to seamlessly transition into the transfer portal, which opens on Jan. 2, he said. This doesn’t eliminate the unpredictable coaching changes that can happen at programs competing in the playoff, but McGuire argues that unfavorable personnel changing is inevitable regardless of calendar shifts.

Many programs with general managers can handle the current overlap of playoffs and the portal window. Some programs’ philosophies, such as Texas Tech’s, separate the responsibilities while in season. McGuire’s job in recruiting extends only as far as daily texts at this stage in the season, while general manager James Blanchard is working 20-plus-hour days on recruiting trails.

However, only 12 teams are playing for a national championship in December. The rest of the country is either finished with its season or competing in bowl games with a withered staff and roster due to opt-outs and the rapid coaching carousel.

McGuire has his solution ready for that problem.

“How about moving the bowl games to an invitation? And that would be week one, Aug. 23, and we’re playing bowl games Thursday, Friday, Saturday,” McGuire said. “ … You’re going to lose a home game, but you still would have a huge attraction TV-wise. It would be a big watch because you know everybody’s dying for college football week one.”

As McGuire stated, the invitational bowl game would erase a home game for teams. But McGuire wouldn’t be a successful commissioner if he didn’t have a solution to ensure teams could fill out their schedules as they pleased.

“We’ve got these kids all summer long. Camp doesn’t need to be a month long,” McGuire said. “We can play zero week, and you know rock and roll.”

Unfortunately for the hopeful-minded “commissioner,” changes in the college football calendar start with the networks, which he does not work with. However, McGuire said he will speak on the subject whenever given the chance because the conversation starts with him and other college football coaches being outspoken in a time of change.

Find more Texas Tech coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Texas A&M teases uniform against Miami in the first-round of the CFP

Published

21 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Texas A&M teases uniform against Miami in the first-round of the CFP

Texas A&M (11-1, 7-1 SEC) is three days away from hosting Miami (10-2) in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Saturday afternoon, as this will be the first appearance in the tournament for both programs, and by far the best game of the weekend outside of Alabama vs. Oklahoma on Friday night.

This week, Texas A&M’s media team teased the fan base and those of us in the media, changing the Texas A&M Football X page’s profile picture to a blacked-out Texas A&M emblem. Still, on Wednesday, the team released a video showing the CFP symbol printed on the standard Maroon jersey, which likely means the Aggies will go with their regular home look.

However, nothing is set in stone until the final uniform reveal, which will likely release on Thursday afternoon, so for those hoping for a blackout, which would be a first during an early afternoon kickoff, that scenario is still in play. Still, it won’t matter which uniform the Aggies play in, knowing that Miami will field a roster chock-full of NFL talent on both sides of the ball.

For Texas A&M to defend home field, starting quarterback Marcel Reed need to avoid turnovers and play with confidence in the pocket, knowing that Miami star defensive end Rueben Bain is looking to cause havoc in the backfield, meaning Reed will need to get the ball out of hands seconds after the snap, and rely on his elite wide receiver corps to make plays after the catch.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.

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All is calm at the Texas Capitol, at least at holiday ornament time

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

All is calm at the Texas Capitol, at least at holiday ornament time

AUSTIN — In a state where political fights rarely take a holiday, one small tradition offers a respite, wrapped in gold, glitter and goodwill.

Hanging from the boughs of Christmas trees across Texas, annual ornaments featuring the Texas State Capitol capture the beauty of the season and the history of the state, without the bluster and bile that typically characterize life under the pink dome.

Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, has one on his tree for each year he’s served in the Legislature, where he was first sworn in a few weeks after Christmas in January 2005. Each season, he buys roughly 30 more to give away, a tradition he says transcends party labels.

“They are amazing. It’s the ideal Christmas gift,” he said, making his best holiday sales pitch. “A surefire way to please constituents and mothers-in-laws across the political spectrum.”

Nelda Laney, wife of then-House Speaker Pete Laney, launched the ornament tradition in 1996 with designs created by the Texas State Preservation Board, the steward of the Capitol and other historic state buildings.

Now, the board’s retail team spends at least two-thirds of the year overseeing the annual design, according to the Texas Capitol Gift Shop website. The board runs three shops: one in the underground Capitol extension, one in the Bob Bullock Museum of Texas History and one in the Capitol Visitors’ Center on the south side of the grounds.

The 2025 Texas State Capitol Christmas ornament features a design that’s a throwback to the original design from 1996.

Texas State Capitol Gift Shop

Over the years, the team has produced dozens of iconic ornaments, made of metal or granite, in flat relief or 3D, some lit up, some mobile. The final designs range from shiny metal locomotives to intricately designed granite miniatures of the entire building.

The 2025 design — a view of the Capitol as seen from Congress Avenue in downtown Austin — is a throwback to the inaugural “First Edition” design in 1996, if modernized a bit.

The ornament shows the Capitol’s entire south face, decorated with holiday wreaths and Yaupon Holly swags wrapped around its columns, the board’s description says. The six flags that have flown over Texas appear on the south pediment, with both the Texas and U.S. flags flying above the entrance. The 1889 Great Walk, paved in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, is flanked by a grand allée of trees, leading visitors inside.

Texas Capitol ornaments through the years

It’s one of dozens of designs that, over the years, have turned the Capitol ornament into a recognizable Lone Star collectible.

A wee statue of the Goddess of Liberty spinning inside golden rings covered in stars debuted in 2006. Three years later, it was black and gold, rectangular — the shape and feel of a tapestry — regarded as one of the more unique designs in the collection. Another from that era used a colorful disc depicting the six flags over Texas. The ornaments start at $25. The current design is fairly typical: Finished in 24-karat gold and 3.5 inches by 3.4 inches.

Older ornaments can be purchased in sets of miniatures. They are available online through the board. The money goes to the preservation board, a taxpayer-funded state agency that releases a new specialty Texas-themed ornament every year.

The ornament release has become a ritual for many, from Capitol employees to repeat customers who buy the ornament every year as gifts.

“A lot of people will come in and buy six because they give one to each family member every year,” said Lisa Gentry, shop manager. “Sometimes they buy the year of their child’s birth. There’s a lot who have a Texas tree, which is only the Texas ornaments that they’ve shopped for in our stores.”

Lawmakers as designers

Rep. Jessica González, D-Dallas, has the entire miniature collection and several annual ornaments from her four terms in office. Her favorite ornaments, she said, are the ones lawmakers design each Christmas to reflect their home districts. Those hang on the Texas House Christmas tree each season and aren’t for sale.

This year, she had two designed by Jesse Acosta and Alejandra Zendejas, co-founders of Pasos for Oak Cliff, a Dallas nonprofit that provides sneakers and other support services to underserved students.

“It’s a small but meaningful way to showcase the flavor of our community… a reminder that every district has its own voice,” González said.

On the consumer side, on a random Thursday two weeks before Christmas, the Capitol gift shop — next door to the building’s popular Capitol Grill — sold more than 300 of the shiny 2025 Texas Capitol keepsakes.

That one design. In one day. In just that one shop.

“People really love them,” Gentry said the following day, as more than 100 flew off her shelves before noon. “Today it’s been nonstop.”