It is expected that elementary enrollment will decline by 550-660 students in the next three to four years, according to Chief Financial Officer Diana Sircar. This would lead to a loss of around $4-5 million dollars. As students move up in grade levels, the secondary grades will start to see the decline in enrollment too.
“We are in shock,” trustee Manish Sethi said. “If half of the projections are true, we will be here discussing similar changes multiple times a year. If the full projections come true, then ... I don’t have words.”
The details
This places additional financial burden on a district already facing a state funding formula that hasn’t changed since 2019, over 20% inflation since that time and underfunded state mandates that have forced CISD to adopt a $7.5 million deficit budget in fiscal year 2024-25, per district documents.
To mitigate these challenges, CISD has implemented various cost-cutting measures and revenue generation strategies, Superintendent Brad Hunt said. This includes reducing positions through attrition, cutting district-level expenses, and lowering the budget for student competitions, shuttles, custodial services and more. Revenue-generation strategies include expanding enrollment efforts outside of the district, increasing facility rental fees and pay-to-ride bus fees.
The district also called a voter-approval tax rate election, which could generate $2.4 million if it passes in the upcoming November election.
The context
Initially, New Tech High School, Austin Elementary and Pinkerton Elementary were the three schools that could shut down due to budget concerns in the district. On Sept. 16, the board removed Austin Elementary as an option for potential closure primarily due to its position as a neighborhood school that students can walk to. They also removed the option that would consolidate New Tech High at Coppell with the stipulation that the staff develop a plan to increase enrollment and efficiency at that campus.
The options to close Pinkerton Elementary, consolidate the dual language immersion program and level Pre-K enrollment districtwide remain on the table ahead of possible approval Sept. 30. Closing Pinkerton Elementary would mean that the district’s International Baccalaureate program would move to Wilson Elementary along with Pinkerton IB staff members. If approved, the changes would take effect for the 2025-26 school year. Conversations at the Sept. 24 meeting primarily focused on the dual language immersion, or DLI, program consolidation.
More details
The program is currently offered at Wilson and Denton Creek elementary schools and seeks to create bilingual and biliterate students. The district would try to move as many DLI staff members as possible from Wilson Elementary to Denton Creek Elementary, according to district documents.
Over 17% of Coppell ISD students speak a foreign language, according to district data. Around 162 students are enrolled at the DLI program at Denton Creek Elementary school, which has a total enrollment of 500 students, said Kristen Eichel, assistant superintendent for administrative services. At Wilson Elementary, around 204 students are enrolled in the program for a total of 366 districtwide.
If the district were to merge the DLI program into a single campus, three teachers in each grade level—from kindergarten through fifth grade—would work together to plan, prepare and implement instruction, Eichel said. Class sizes for K-4 students would remain below the 22:1 ratio required by the Texas Education Agency and the 25:1 for fifth grade. Class sizes would mirror current DLI offerings.
Under the current structure, there are one or two DLI classes depending on grade level at both Wilson and Denton Creek. Should the program consolidate, there could be three classes offered at each grade level, per district documents. Additionally, almost 70% of students in the Denton Creek DLI program are zoned to other campuses. At Wilson Elementary, that number is 53%.
Also of note
If approved, Pinkerton students will consolidate into Wilson and Austin elementary schools. The district will adjust Denton Creek Elementary attendance zones to Town Center, Cottonwood Creek and Lakeside elementary schools based on enrollment, according to district documents. The option would save around $2.1 million in the 2024-25 school year. District staff said that the consolidations would not affect the elementary class student-to-teacher ratios of 22:1.
Along with the VATRE, another major funding strategy CISD explored was building consolidation, prompting the creation of a facilities evaluation tool in June. The tool is used to determine facility, building and land-use efficiency amid declining enrollment and budget concerns.
Buildings were rated on capacity, age and condition; cost to run and maintain; and proximity to neighborhoods. Pinkerton scored the lowest of all facilities in the district in the age and condition category. Results of the evaluation can be found on the rubric here.
The district’s 2023 bond package allocated millions for renovation projects at multiple campuses outlined through 2027, including the three schools poised for possible closure, according to district documents. Should closures occur, the board could choose to not spend the money or reallocate it to other projects.
Looking ahead
The following options are still up for board consideration and will be determined at the Sept. 30 meeting.
Consolidating Pinkerton with Wilson and Austin Elementary, which would result in the following changes:
- IB program moved to Wilson
- DLI and bilingual Pre-K program moved to Denton Creek
- Level Pre-K enrollment districtwide
- Denton Creek attendance zones adjusted to Town Center, Cottonwood Creek and Lakeside based on enrollment
- $2.1 million saved
- The DLI program and Bilingual Pre-K program would move into Denton Creek Elementary
- $288,000 saved
- Efficiency in class sizes, neighborhood schools for students
- $0 saved
