The big picture
Katy Crockett’s son Wyatt was a fourth grader for Davis Elementary’s last school year. Armstrong Middle, Carpenter Middle, Davis and Forman Elementary closed due to declining enrollment across the district.
Wyatt transferred to Harrington Elementary for fifth grade, and Crockett said that parents faced uncertainty over aspects of the transition to Harrington, including bussing. She added that parents have faced other challenges, such as long pickup and drop-off lines.
“We’re moving on, but it feels like we’re in this constant adjustment period,” she said. “It’s frustrating for Davis parents coming in and not knowing how anything works.”
Still, she added that Wyatt is “adjusting really well” to the change.
“My son is making a ton of new friends—I see that as the silver lining,” she said.
What happened
PISD Chief Communications Officer Lesley Range-Stanton said that the district provided support for students and families impacted, including open house and transition events.
Existing and planned facility improvements for all receiving campuses “were more than adequate to support additional enrollment,” according to district officials.
Range-Stanton said PISD offered positions to all employees from closed campuses, and “approximately 85%” chose to stay with PISD.
All four schools had “legacy committees,” tasked with preserving of the schools’ history.
Laura Retta’s daughter was a sixth grader at Carpenter during its final year, and she served on its legacy committee through 2024-25.
“We just wanted to love on our school as much as we possibly could,” Retta said. “Carpenter was always a lower enrollment campus so [the closure] wasn’t completely unexpected, but because of that it was just such a tight-knit community.”
Retta was also a member of the Long Range Facility Planning Committee, a group of 70 community members that was initially tasked with evaluating campus efficiencies and presenting the suggested consolidation plan to the board.
“It was the most difficult volunteer role that I’ve had throughout my time with PISD,” she said. “This was uncharted territory for everyone involved, and it was a challenge. But it was executed as well as everyone could make it.”
