Grapevine-Colleyville ISD parents concerned over possible school closures
GCISD parents concerned over possible school closures
Grapevine Colleyville ISD says multiple schools could close as the district deals with a budget shortfall.
GRAPEVINE, Texas - Grapevine-Colleyville ISD says multiple schools could close as the district deals with a budget shortfall.
The district says two to three elementary schools could be affected.
The news has many parents on edge, wondering if their family's school will be affected.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD closures
Friday, GCISD sent an email out to parents to give an update on the progress. It said the committee is now meeting weekly to prepare a recommendation to the school board.
The district told FOX 4 Friday it is possible that two to three schools could close.
The district, like many others in North Texas, is facing a large budget deficit and declining enrollment. There are multiple scenarios for the southern portion of the district that looks at Bransford, Colleyville, Bear Creek and Glenhope Elementary Schools for possible closure.
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GCISD Parents urge board to slow down school closure process amid deficit concerns
Facing a budget deficit and declining enrollment, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD is moving forward with considering school closures and consolidations, a process that parents are urging the school board to slow down.
A committee is considering the age of the buildings, operational costs and capacity, along with faculty retention, family engagement and student achievement.
The district sent out a community input form for people to fill out with potential alternative ideas.
Concerned parents hold forum
What they're saying:
Renee Hart is one of many parents in GCISD concerned about the decision. To help parents better understand the situation, she and other parents held a parent and community forum earlier this week.
"We immediately tried to seek out ways that we could give our input, find solutions and potentially save our school," Hart said.
She has two kids at Dove Elementary School, which has been consistently listed in scenarios as one of the possible schools closed in the northern area of the district.
"It's obvious that they are taking a deep dive into the southern portion of the district. We just wish we would have gotten the same opportunity," Hart said.
"We just wanted everyone to understand what the numbers meant and really what design, maximum, functional capacity meant because those are big things that are being thrown at us and not everybody understands what they were reading," Hart continued.
What's next:
The school board will get an update on the committee's progress during Monday's school board meeting, but there will not be any action taken.
Right now, there's no timeframe for when the committee will share a recommendation with the school board.
The Source: Information in this article comes from GCISD and parents with the district.