Conroe ISD families filed 4,704 applications for the state's new school voucher program. The total places the district fifth among Houston-area districts in demand for Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA), according to a KPRC 2 analysis of Texas Comptroller's Office data released June 9.
Of those applicants, 1,525 Conroe ISD families received TEFA awards.
The numbers land in a district already navigating financial pressure. Conroe ISD is working through an $8 million budget deficit and its first enrollment decline in nearly a decade, the Houston Chronicle reported. State funding is tied to average daily enrollment, generating $6,610 per student, according to Conroe ISD Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza.
"It's hard to say what will happen now with vouchers," board member Marianne Horton told the Houston Chronicle in early 2026, as the district grappled with the deficit. "When we lose enrollment, we lose funds."
The district's board of trustees factored the impact of education savings accounts into its $769.6 million budget for the 2026-27 school year, approved Aug. 18, according to Community Impact.
How Conroe ISD compares
Houston ISD led the region with 12,267 applications and 3,953 awards. Fort Bend ISD followed with 8,429 applications and 2,672 awards, then Cypress-Fairbanks ISD with 5,858 applications and 2,050 awards, and Katy ISD with 5,108 applications and 1,622 awards.
Conroe ISD's 1,525 awards represent about 2% of the district's 72,914 enrolled students.
The June 9 data does not include an additional 4,500 awards issued statewide on Aug. 28 to waitlisted students. The Comptroller's Office has not released an updated district-level breakdown, so Conroe ISD's actual award total may be higher.
Statewide demand and funding
The Texas Legislature created TEFA in 2025, allocating $1 billion for its launch. More than 270,000 students statewide applied during the window that ran from February through March 31. Because demand exceeded funding, applicants were prioritized by disability status and household income, with a lottery determining placement.
Participating families receive $10,474 for private school expenses. Homeschool families can receive up to $2,000 per child. Students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000, depending on individual needs.
About 70% of students who received awards or invitations already attended private school or were homeschooled. The remaining 30% were previously in Texas public schools, according to state data cited by Community Impact.
More than 106,000 students remain on the statewide waitlist. Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has asked the legislature to double TEFA funding to more than $2 billion for the 2028-29 budget cycle.
At a Sept. 9 legislative hearing, Comptroller's Office spokesperson Travis Pillow called it "the longest school choice waitlist in the country," according to Houston Public Media. The comptroller's office said at that hearing it would announce a new application window within weeks.
An award is not enrollment. Parents must opt in and confirm their child is attending a participating school before funding is finalized.
The legislature's next session begins in January 2027, when lawmakers will take up the state's two-year budget, including the proposed TEFA expansion.
