CISD Executive Communications Director Jeff Brady gave a presentation on consolidating Durham at a Dec. 15 board meeting. No action was taken.
By the numbers
The drop in enrollment has resulted in a state funding loss of about $7 million, Brady said. School districts receive funding from the state based on average daily attendance, according to the Texas Education Agency’s website. The district is roughly 2,000 students under capacity, Brady said.
"Our taxpayer dollars are paying to heat, to cool, to insure, to supply, to protect, and to, at times upgrade empty classrooms without a single student," Brady said.
For the 2025-26 school year, 664 fifth and sixth grade students attend Durham, which has capacity for 849 students. A fall demographer’s report shows that Durham is projected to lose roughly 160 students by the 2030-31 school year, and CISD’s enrollment will drop by another 800 students, from 7,870 to 7,063, over the same time period.
"This enrollment trend is not changing. It's very definite, and it's consistent," Brady said.
Board President Cameron Bryan said the district is likely to try to sell the Durham property. The sale will net CISD between $20 million and $25 million, Deputy Superintendent of Finance and Operations Chase Park said.
Budget projections show that closing Durham will save the district about $2.5 million in the first year from administrative staff cuts and interest from the sale. The district will earn about $1 million every year after that from interest on selling the property, Park added.
The impact
Durham is one of two campuses in CISD that serve fifth and sixth grade students. Closing Durham would move all fifth grade students and teachers into existing elementary schools, and the district would expand two campuses to accommodate grades 6-8, according to Brady's presentation.
The high school campus grade levels would remain the same.
Some background
A subcommittee of parents, community members and district employees began working on a consolidation plan in September, Brady said. Durham requires more than $8 million in repairs, more than any other campus in the district, according to Brady's presentation.
Looking ahead
Trustees will have the opportunity to act on the proposal at a Jan. 12 meeting.
"Nothing would happen right away. Not this year, not next year, not until the fall of 2027," Brady said.
If the board chooses to explore consolidation, district officials will determine new attendance boundaries, transportation routes, campus schedules and staff placements between early 2026 and early 2027, Brady said.
