Superintendent: Enrollment at L-EISD stable; update the campuses to make attractive

Superintendent Nick Blain said Thursday that enrollment at Liberty-Eylau Independent School District has stabilized.

Blain reported to the school board that enrollment is 2,763 this year. Last year’s enrollment was 2,742, a 1-percent drop from the previous year. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, enrollment was 2,892 and 2,848, respectively.

Blain said the board should consider updating campuses to make them more visually appealing.

“We are going to have to work on the book’s cover, if you know what I mean,” Blain said. “We’ve got to have some new campuses. We got to have some eye appeal.”

Blain said despite a prediction several years ago of population growth in southern Texarkana and the Liberty- Eylau community, the district has not seen an increase in students.

“We’re going to have to be our own chamber of commerce and bring people to the south (of town).”

In other business, the board unanimously approved joining the Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition school finance lawsuit.

“Preliminary committee reports from the next Texas legislative session seem to suggest no new funding for education,” Blain said. “As superintendent, I felt it was time to step up to defend public education in Texas.”

Blain said if the lawsuit prevails L-EISD will be awarded an additional $1.9 million in funding based on the average funding for weighted student.