This podcast contains comments from demographer Bob Templeton during the December 15, 2020 College Station ISD school board meeting.

This month's College Station school board meeting included a biannual report from the district's demographer.

Bob Templeton says there were 212 fewer students in CSISD during the fall semester compared with projections. The decrease was in pre-K and elementary grades. Templeton says some parents chose not to enroll their children in pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade classes.

Templeton says lower numbers in public and charter schools was primarily due to elementary students moving to home schools.

Templeton is expecting CSISD to have 1800 more students in the next five years. He says that will be driven by new home construction, which he says has not slowed down during the pandemic.

Templeton says CSISD could add more than 500 students next year...of which more than 200 will be returning after leaving during the first year of the pandemic.

While CSISD enrollment was down about two percent, Templeton says enrollment in the fastest growing school districts was down between five and six percent.

Statewide, the pandemic is projected to be responsible for a drop of more than 200,000 public school students during the fall semester. Before the pandemic, Templeton said Texas was adding 60,000 to 80,000 students a year.