Grand Prairie ISD proposes 3 school closures to bridge budget gap

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas - Parents that spoke to FOX 4 are not up in arms to fight the Grand Prairie ISD school closure. For the most part, they've accepted this could happen to their school. 

What parents wanted from the school board meeting were answers from the district about safety, traffic, and increased class sizes. 

GPISD closures on the table

What we know:

Grand Prairie ISD is considering closing Dickinson Montessori Academy and moving the students to Truman Middle School to create a new Pre-K through 8th grade campus. 

The district is facing similar issues to other districts: declining enrollment and a budget deficit. 

If Dickinson were to close, it would save the district about $1.1 million a year. 

The district is also considering closing Morton Elementary School and Travis World Language Academy. Students at those campuses would be consolidated into nearby elementary schools.

The board of trustees chose not to vote on the recommended school closures in January. Instead, they will hold informational meetings for parents and families at each campus. 

Safety and logistics concerns

Local perspective:

Dickinson Montessori Academy parents like Neal Bernier want answers from Grand Prairie ISD. That's why he showed up at Monday night's school board meeting.  

"Traffic issues. That's the main thing, drop off, pickup, is the beyond the bell going to work?" asked Bernier.

"Here's another question: What are the teachers going to do? Are the teachers going to be transferred over there?"

What they're saying:

Chicquetah Lambert isn't at the meeting to change the district's mind. She's at the meeting to hear the district's plan that affects her granddaughter in first grade at Dickinson. 

"But the safety issue. I can't imagine an 8th grader or even a kindergartner. How are they going to keep them separated and monitor the students?" said Lambert.

"Hopefully it's all good. We know they're closing. We just need to know their plan of action for protecting the kids, and the school bell and getting the kids to the school on time, so we'll see, we'll see."

Dig deeper:

Tajuana and DJ Johnson’s son is a fourth grader at Dickinson. After the meeting, they plan to consider all their options if the school does close. 

"We thought coming out tonight, it could go 50/50, but we thought that maybe there would still be a chance for it to be open," said Tajuana.

"Looks like it's the wheels are in motion, honestly. Just hope for the best. They did say that if you are an out-of-district student, that you would get priority for your top 3 choices of schools, so we have some research to do." 

Next steps for families

What's next:

If approved, all the classroom teachers at Dickinson would move with their students to Truman. 

The informational meeting for Morton Elementary School is Tuesday night, followed by the meeting at Travis World Language Academy on Thursday. 

The board is set to take action on its plan at the next school board meeting on Feb. 17.