In a nutshell
The Education Master Planning Committee, or EMPC, recommended consolidating Dove Elementary with Cannon Elementary School and Silver Lake Elementary School, along with consolidating Bransford with O.C. Taylor Elementary School and Colleyville Elementary School.
District Chief Financial Officer David Johnson said GCISD enrollment has dropped by about 1,500 students since 2019, resulting in a revenue loss of more than $10 million. Texas school districts receive funding from the state based on average daily attendance, according to the Texas Education Agency’s website.
By the numbers
District documents show Bransford is currently at about 67% capacity, while Dove sits at roughly 57% capacity. If Dove closes, enrollment at Cannon will increase from 465 to 581 students, and Silver Lake’s enrollment will go from 450 up to 635 students for the 2026-27 school year, according to the district.
Bransford's closure will cause O.C. Taylor's enrollment to increase from 465 to 589, and Colleyville's enrollment to go from 415 to 560 students.
Thirty-five Colleyville Elementary School students would need to be relocated to O.C. Taylor along with another 49 moving to Glenhope Elementary School. Additionally, 120 O.C. Taylor students would relocate to Heritage Elementary School, according to the committee’s recommendation.
Budget projections from Johnson show closing the two campuses will save roughly $2.7 million.
Diving deeper
Demographic projections show that enrollment is likely to continue to decline.
“This is not going to be the permanent fix,” Superintendent Brad Schnautz said. “Because we have to come out and we have to generate revenue, we have to do a multitude of things.”
District officials will also explore additional ways to raise revenue, including implementing a microschool and homeschool cooperative program for any grade level, selling additional stadium advertising rights, and investing in an athletics site that the district could rent out, according to the recommendation.
What else?
The committee also proposed a new feeder pattern for middle and high schools to accommodate the campus changes. The new middle school feeder pattern shows:
- Colleyville and O.C. Taylor students will feed into Colleyville Middle School.
- Glenhope, Timberline and Cannon students will feed into Cross Timbers Middle School.
- Grapevine and Silver Lake students will feed into Grapevine Middle School.
- Bear Creek and Heritage students will feed into Heritage Middle School.
- Colleyville Middle School and Cross Timbers Middle School will feed into Grapevine High School.
- Grapevine Middle School and Heritage Middle School will feed into Colleyville Heritage High School.
Despite earning the second-lowest score on the committee’s rubric, the committee ruled out closing O.C. Taylor, instead deciding to close Bransford. District documents show that O.C. Taylor is older and requires more repairs, but the committee ruled that closing Bransford would be less disruptive to students and parents. Closing O.C. Taylor would split those students between four different schools, while closing Bransford relocates students to only two schools.
Enrollment at O.C. Taylor has remained consistent, while Bransford's enrollment has declined, GCISD Chief Operations Officer Paula Barbaroux said.
District documents also show that O.C. Taylor sits on roughly 17 acres, which could allow the district to expand the campus if needed in the future.
Looking ahead
The trustees will vote on the committee’s recommendation at the Dec. 10 board meeting, and the committee will continue to revise the new feeder pattern, GCISD Executive Communications Director Nicole Lyons said.
The campus closures are proposed to take effect for the 2026-27 school year.
