Apart from the closure of Highland Village Elementary and a boundary adjustment for Memorial Elementary STEM Academy, which received a 6-1 and 5-2 vote respectively, the board of trustees approved the closures and boundary adjustments in a unanimous vote at a Dec. 9 meeting.
The details
At a packed meeting Dec. 9, the board voted to close B.B. Owen, Creekside, Garden Ridge, and Highland Village elementary schools and Polser Elementary STEM Academy. The decision brought a close to discussions that took place from October through December, and is poised to save the district around $2.3 million, or about $460,000 per campus, according to district documents.
The boundary adjustments and rezoning for the closed campuses will be as follows, according to the district’s plan:
- B.B. Owen Elementary's 273 students will be rezoned to Ethridge, Camey, Morningside and Peters Colony elementary schools.
- Creekside Elementary’s closure will result in boundary adjustments for Lewisville, Lakeland and Degan Elementary schools, which will absorb Creekside's 373 students.
- Garden Ridge Elementary’s closure will impact Donald Elementary STEM Academy and Forest Vista Elementary, which will absorb the campus's 323 students.
- The 378 students at Highland Village Elementary will be rezoned to McAuliffe Elementary and Heritage Elementary.
- The 504 students attending Polser Elementary STEM Academy will combine with Hebron Valley Elementary, which will become the new STEM academy.
Transfer students currently attending affected schools will be allotted a space at the school they were originally zoned for, but the district will consider further transfer requests, officials said. Along with the closures, the board approved the following boundary adjustments at the following campuses:
- Bluebonnet Elementary
- Creek Valley Middle School
- Degan Elementary
- Downing Middle School
- Lakeland Elementary
- Lewisville Elementary
- Memorial Elementary STEM Academy
The comprehensive boundary adjustment and rezoning plans can be found online here.
Some context
LISD has experienced around 22% inflation and would need the basic allotment to increase around $1,300 per student to have the same buying power it did in 2019. In addition, utility costs such as water and electricity have risen 39% and 61% for the district, respectively, per district documents.
State funding has also not increased since 2019 and the board adopted a $4.5 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year 2024-25. Enrollment decline was one factor that precipitated discussions on school closures and prompted to board to forgo staff raises for the FY 2024-25 school.
Officials anticipate enrollment to dip by over 3,000 students in the next decade, according to updated projections from demographer Rocky Gardiner, a consultant with Zonda Education, who presented the data to the board Nov. 11. At the current state funding allotment of $6,160 per student, this decline would equate to over $18 million in funding loss.
The decline can be attributed to a variety of factors from increasing homeschool and private school attendance, virtual school options and fewer apartment options for younger families in Lewisville, Gardiner said. According to district documents, around 15% of LISD families are seeking education opportunities outside of the school district.
Going forward
The district will begin the process of transferring students and staff over the next year, with changes set to take effect in the 2025-26 school year.
With the closure of Polser, the district will begin the STEM Academy certification process for Hebron Valley Elementary beginning next year, officials said.
Additionally, state officials are also expected to discuss school funding, enrollment, decreasing attendance rates, increases in special education enrollment and a decrease in its funding at the 89th legislative session set to begin in January. Four bills have been filed regarding the basic allotment, two of which would raise the amount by up to $1,000, LISD Superintendent Lori Rapp said. Eighteen other bills have been filed pertaining to school finances.
With state funding challenges spurring school closures in LISD, Coppell ISD and other districts across Dallas-Fort Worth, LISD officials have outlined their priorities and will advocate for increased school funding throughout next year, Rapp said.
What they're saying
Garden Ridge Elementary parent Katy Natt said she would have liked to see more transparency in the decision to close schools.
"Parents of the community have poured their heart and soul into giving the board food for thought for keeping our schools open, which we believed were really compelling," Natt said. "In the end, [the board] was not transparent enough, we did all this work and its devastating for us and our students."
Families are worried that the decision will negatively impact the quality of education in LISD, Natt said. Multiple families have also expressed that with the closure of the campuses, they will be considering alternative options like private, charter and homeschools, she added.
"Garden Ridge and some of the other affected schools will rally together. We have already done it so far and gained bonds between parents and community," Natt said. "We are hoping to expand our voices beyond LISD."
