ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Abilene ISD has reported a loss in enrollment once again, marking the 6th year that’s seen a student body decrease.

For the 2022-23 school year, 15,312 students were enrolled in AISD, down from 17,133 for the 2016-17 school year.

The Abilene ISD School Board released the statistics during a meeting earlier this week, where they said that despite the decreased enrollment, teacher and staff presence has remained the same, with about 2,500 employees across the district.

42% of these employees are teachers, 15% are administrative, 21% are auxiliary staff like bus drivers and maintenance, 20% are professional, and just under 3% are clerical.

However, Abilene ISD lags behind the state in teacher salary, with the starting average being $50,703 compared to $54,577 average across Texas.

In 2022-23, there were 158 new teachers in Abilene ISD and no teachers that more than 30 years of experience.