Richardson ISD to hold parent meeting on proposed school closures

Parents react to Richardson ISD school closure plans

Parents in the Richardson Independent School District will get their first chance tonight to comment publicly on the plan to close five elementary schools and rezone others next year. Some who talked to FOX 4 said they were not prepared for the sudden changes as the district tries to cut its budget.

RICHARDSON, Texas - Parents in the Richardson Independent School District will get their first chance to talk with district leaders about some proposed school closures.

The district is planning to shut down five schools and rezone a few others.

It’s happening because Richardson ISD is facing a $28 million budget deficit due to declining enrollment and a lack of increased state funding.

The schools closing next year would be Greenwood Hills, Spring Valley, Springridge, and Thurgood Marshall elementary schools.

Dobie Pre-K would also close in 2025.

One of the schools that would rezone some students is Dartmouth Elementary. Parents there have concerns and plan to take them to the district.

"We were not prepared in any way for our neighborhood to be split in half," said Codi and Rob Hansen.

"When I looked at the zoning, I saw oh goodness they’re going to send us to a different school. Whereas right now we’re only a .3 mile walk, now it’s going to be a 1.3 mile walk that’s 28 minutes and it crosses a six-lane divided road. I was angry, sad and hurt," added Josh Dennison, another parent.

District officials said they proposed these changes to keep programs and services available to students.

Doing it this way will save about $11 million a year.

Richardson ISD is hosting several meetings to hear what parents have to say before voting on the proposed plan at the end of next month.

The first of those meetings is Monday at 6 p.m. at the Pearce High School commons area.