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Fort Bend ISD will close seven elementary schools ahead of the 2026-27 school year.
What’s happening?
The closures—located in the district’s northwest/central and southeast/central areas—were approved by the Fort Bend ISD board in multiple split votes at a March 9 board meeting.
Affected schools include:
The closures come after a Feb. 23 recommendation from the district’s school boundary advisory committee following a January survey, which shows nearly half of respondents were neutral about the potential elementary school closures, Community Impact previously reported.
However, 34% of all stakeholders were against the closures.
How we got here
The changes are a part of the district's three-year boundary planning process due to stabilized enrollment patterns, resulting in under- and overutilized campuses across the district with some schools, Community Impact reported.
The consolidation of campuses focuses on seven campuses with enrollment under 600 students each as of Aug. 29. The most recent facility condition scores indicate the campuses are less stable in terms of infrastructure, Zonda officials previously said.
What they're saying
Although the district was initially built for 100,000 students, Superintendent Marc Smith said the student population has not exceeded 80,000 students in several years, causing the need for the district to adjust.
“The challenge that we are living with is that bad enrollment is the redemption of a long-term shift that we’re seeing and is putting us in the situation that we’re having to make these kinds of decisions,” Smith said.
Board President Kristin Tassin brought up her past experiences of rezoning her own daughter as a school board member and said she is taking into account the entire district’s future when voting on these decisions.
“So this was a decision that I made, even knowing the challenges that some of our students were going to face because I think the alternative is untenable,” Tassin said.
However, trustee Angie Hanan said she voted based on what she thought was right, regardless of the consequences.
“Some of my votes tonight reflect that I know the burden that has been placed on me by the community and my votes are based on the fact that I just simply cannot surrender my judgment based on the perceived threat of being on the [Texas Education Agency’s] radar,” Hanan said.
In their own words
During the meeting’s public comment period, more than 50 speakers came to voice their concerns about the school closures. One of those speakers, Lisa Covington, who has a kindergartener and third grader at Sugar Mill, said she was “really frustrated” after the final decisions were made.
“Here is the fact for my family, Sugar Mill is our community,” Covington said in the public comment period. “I don’t have a new piece of data to share with you this evening—I’m simply here to ask: Do not vote to close because you feel pressure from some force. Do not vote to close because you don’t know what other options [you] have.”
Meanwhile, Austin Parkway Elementary parent John Strader said after the meeting he is contemplating moving out of the district.
“We’re very distraught and we need time to grieve this, but they’re not going to stop hearing from us,” Strader said. “As long as we live, we will remember what they did tonight.”
Moving forward
The district will be prioritizing communication with students, families, staff and the community at large as these changes are implemented ahead of the 2026-27 school year, officials previously said.
Following the primary school boundary review, FBISD secondary school boundaries will begin review in April, with plans for board consideration in early fall.
