Fort Worth ISD tries to ease parents' concerns amid talks about school closures

FORT WORTH, Texas - Parents packed into a Fort Worth church eager for any information about the potential closures of some Fort Worth schools.

District leaders are urging caution, noting nothing has been decided yet.

What we know:

Parents and families from three Fort Worth ISD schools packed the pews at the Arlington Heights Methodist Church Wednesday night to hear what the future of Fort Worth ISD could look like. 

Fort Worth ISD Deputy Superintendent Kellie Spencer explained to concerned parents that the district doesn’t currently have an official list of schools that are up for consideration for closure, and there are no official recommendations.

"There may be a thought out there that this plan has already been developed and already exists. And that is 100% not true," she said.

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Easing Parent Concerns

The backstory:

Concern and fear spread after a presentation from a consulting firm was shared at a board workshop meeting to update trustees on the process. It included consolidation options and names of schools on the chopping block.

Spencer says the presentation was taken out of context. 

"From my perspective, it’s very unfortunate in the way that happened and certainly was not the way the district intended for that information to be released," she said.

Spencer reassured the group of parents from North Hi Mount and South Hi Mount elementary schools and Stripling Middle School that some of the options presented at that meeting are not viable, such as changing Stripling into an elementary school.

"Had that idea presented itself five years ago, maybe… right? But if you drive by that school, what do you see? Construction! A $60 million worth of construction," she said. "To be what? A middle school. A middle school!"

Dig deeper:

The district is facing declining enrollment in part due to a declining birthrate.

It will be a major task for Karen Molinar, the interim superintendent who was just named as the lone finalist for the job Tuesday night. It was the first question she got after being announced.

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"It’s not going to happen this month or next month. We're looking at late spring before we make any decisions or recommendations," she said. "But more importantly, this is a phase in the process. This is not going to be next year where we're looking at closing 5, 10, 15 schools. This will be a phase-in."

What's next:

Next week, the district will present viable options to get feedback from the community.

"Next week is about feedback. We’re going to present some options," said Spencer. "Some of those are still being vetted through to make sure that they are viable, and we don’t put out anything that would cause anxiety that we know we can’t do or we won’t be able to do." 

Spencer reiterated that the options would evolve as the process continues. She hopes to bring forward recommendations for the master facilities plan to the school board in June.

Spencer also emphasized that any changes that are part of the final plan will not go into effect for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Only changes that have already been approved by the board will go into effect next school year.