4 August 27 - september 2, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Month XX–Month XX, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | W hat does it take for a North Texas school district to break even on a $450,000 marketing campaign of grassroots outreach, newspaper ads and targeted digital advertising? Netting approximately 75 new students, Richardson ISD staff recently estimated. The numbers came as RISD officials con- sidered investing up to $500,000 on a dedi- cated marketing and advertising campaign after years of sustained enrollment declines and financial strain. Further enrollment, staff explained, would lead to additional rev- enue, as school funding in Texas is largely dictated by the per-student allotment. While trustees ultimately balked at the proposed budget item and called for a more phased approach, the board eventually approved $200,000 for marketing in June. Set to roll out this fall, the campaign will see the district invest in targeted social me- dia advertising, direct mail, events and com- munity ambassadors. When asked by the Observer, Superintendent Tabitha Branum said an administrator in her position would have “never” had to consider search engine optimization or geofenced messaging 20 years ago. Those may be newer tools, but so are the circumstances that require public schools to use them, she added. “It’s a new weight that we have around just understanding the breadth of choices and what we have to do to make sure that we are staying competitive with that breadth of choices,” Branum said. Declining birth rates, housing shortages, and competition from private and charter schools have led school districts like Bra- num’s to lose students at an accelerating rate since pre-COVID highs. Richardson ISD’s enrollment has declined by more than 3,000 students since 2019, and those losses impact a district’s bottom line. Last year, RISD ap- proved a $20.8 million deficit budget that re- quired the district to transfer $9 million from its “rainy day fund.” The constraints force school boards to make painful decisions. In 2024, RISD trust- ees voted to close four elementary schools and one pre-K campus amid a $28 million budget deficit. Districts have already closed or approved the closure of over 100 cam- puses since 2024, including 11 in North Texas, according to data analysis by Our De- mocracy Our Schools. Trustees for Fort Worth ISD, the tenth largest school district in the state by enrollment, approved plans to close 18 campuses over the next five years in 2025. It is a bleak picture, and the rollout of school choice has made it competitive as North Texas school districts scramble to re- capture students and, in turn, secure fund- ing in what feels like an arms race. Marketing and advertising are obvious an- gles for some districts, while others are in- vesting in early education programs, online learning and technical training. Four Texas districts have even applied to accept voucher funds for pre-K tuition. But they all point to the same thing: districts can no lon- ger assume children zoned within their boundaries will enroll, and officials are try- ing to make their districts an easy sell in an era when choice matters more than ever and campuses continue to close. Photo-illustration by Kristin Bjornsen / Source images via Adobe Stock >> p6 ▼ Cover Story REELING THEM IN North Texas schools are advertising for survival in the era of vouchers, closures and vanishing enrollment. BY AUSTIN WOOD
