LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Shallowater ISD is inviting elementary-aged students to join the Mustang family for the first time in more than a decade.

After losing more than 60 students last year, the district is opening applications for transfers to 1st-5th grades."We want to make sure that if we're providing opportunities to our kiddos, that we're able to sustain them and make sure that they're good opportunities for them," Superintendent Aron Strickland said.

Shallowater ISD logo (June 2026)(KCBD Video)Strickland said the decrease in enrollment cost Shallowater more than $400,000 in state funding, money that is crucial for everything the district has to offer."We've added programs like robotics and dance. We've expanded our CTE programs, things like health science and medical pathways that we want to make sure aren't affected by some of the economics that are going on around the state," Strickland said.