A Fort Bend ISD boundary survey showed that nearly half of respondents were neutral about the seven potential elementary school closures, officials shared at a Feb. 9 special meeting.
The breakdown
The survey, which was distributed to parents and stakeholders in January, showed 49% of respondents were neutral across all stakeholders, Chief of Organizational Development Stephanie Williams said. However, the number fell to 43% neutral when looking at those affected by a potential closure.
Meanwhile, overall 34% of all stakeholders were against the closures with the number rising to 49% of those who would be affected by the closures.
To ensure less rigidity while examining such a complex issue, the district purposefully went with a five-point likert scale to include “neutral” as an option, Williams said.
“When you use a four-point likert scale, you force stakeholders to one of the polarizing views, either opposition or support and we did not want to force a stakeholder to pick a view,” Williams said.
Additionally, Williams said the district took into account the statistics of every survey that was initiated, not just finished, bringing the total number of responses above 13,000.
Items worth mentioning
Over 12,000 responses were given to three write-in questions in the survey, including 152 “tangible, alternate solutions” that are currently being reviewed.
Williams said half of all written responses stated there were no benefits to the boundary changes with the most common concerns citing impact on students, transportation, proximity/walkability, loss of community, change management and shifts in property value/home purchases.
Meanwhile, the other half mentioned several key benefits including,
- Balanced enrollment/building utilization
- Savings cost/budget management
- Proximity/walkability
- Improved academics/programming
- General support
Stakeholders also believed the three main factors that should go into the district’s decision making are community integrity, frequency of changes, and program accommodation/student needs, per survey results.
What they’re saying
Nearly 100 parents, teachers, students, and former students spoke out against the boundary changes during the public comment portion of the special and agenda review meetings.
John Strader, a pastor at Horizon Baptist Church and a Austin Parkway Elementary school parent, said he was displeased in the district’s handling of the boundary changes and said it could altered how he approaches giving back to the school.
“As a parent and as a pastor of a community church that helps multiple Fort Bend ISD schools, who has multiple families that are teaching and have students in FBISD, we’re seriously considering pulling out of helping anything with Fort Bend ISD," Strader said. "You’re showing a continued lack of transparency and ethics that I just can’t stand for."
How we got here
The proposed closures stem from plateaued enrollment figures, causing facilities with lower enrollment and less secure infrastructure to potentially cease operation, as previously reported by Community Impact.
Potential elementary schools affected by the boundary proposal, include:
- Austin Parkway
- Dulles
- Arizona Fleming
- Edgar Glover Jr
- Mission West
- Ridgegate
- Sugar Mill
Also of note
District officials released an online dashboard Feb. 10 providing survey outcomes as well as identified advantages and concerns, district officials announced in a Feb. 10 news release.
“The long-range boundary planning survey dashboard allows our families, staff, and community members to see how feedback is being gathered and considered,” said Beth Martinez, deputy superintendent chief of staff. “Stakeholder input plays an important role as Fort Bend ISD plans responsibly to support students, schools, and the future of FBISD.”
What’s next?
Final elementary recommendations are set to be considered by the board on March 9, Superintendent Marc Smith said. If approved, the implementation process will run from March to August before students begin at their newly assigned schools in the 2026-27 school year.
Following the potential primary school boundary changes, FBISD secondary school boundaries will begin review in April with plans for board consideration in early fall.
