Public School Enrollments Dip as Private Schools Grow Here in Fayette Co.

Enrollment at public schools in Fayette County is down slightly this year while private schools made gains.

La Grange ISD was down 15 students overall from the end of last year. La Grange elementary school lost 45 students while the middle school and high school gained 30.

Schulenburg ISD enrollment fell by 22 students, amounting to about a 3.5 percent decrease.

Flatonia ISD gained seven students. Fayetteville ISD was up by two. Round Top Carmine ISD lost 13 students.

The Record also obtained enrollment numbers from four private schools in Fayette County: Sacred Heart Catholic School in La Grange, St. Rose Catholic School in Schulenburg, Faith Lutheran High School in Warda and Fayette Classical Christian School in Muldoon. All of them except Faith Lutheran grew in enrollment.

This is the first year families could use Texas Education Freedom Accounts for private school tuition. The new state program provides children attending a participating private school or a pre-K or kindergarten with 85% of the estimated statewide average amount of state and local funding per student for the most recent school year, as calculated by the Texas Education Agency.

TEA set this amount at $10,474 for the 2026-27 school year.

Three of the private schools we tracked accepted TEFA funding this year. Faith Lutheran Principal Nikki Kueck said the program has been of great assistance to her students, with about 57 percent receiving funding. All of those were returning students, she said.

“From our perspective, this new program really did help the families who were working very hard to make sure private education was possible,” she said.

Sacred Heart Catholic School in La Grange reported 30.5 percent of their students received TEFA funding. At St. Rose, that number was 26 percent of students.

On the other hand, Fayette Classical Christian School does not accept TEFA funding.

“We have not accepted those funds,” said Rev. Will Martin, headmaster of Fayette Classical Christian School. “We are of a mind that when the government gives our money back to us, they always do it with strings attached. We did not and do not want their input or permission on how to educate children who have eternal souls.”