Another North Texas school district is considering campus closures, this time in Arlington ISD, where Blanton Elementary School could close as soon as the end of this school year. District leaders say additional closures may follow.
Blanton’s campus along South Collins Street on the city’s east side is nearly 70 years old, and Arlington ISD officials said Thursday the cost of keeping the building operational continues to climb.
“We just completed a facility assessment, and it’s one of the glaring ones that we really have an issue there,” said Arlington ISD Superintendent Matt Smith.
Smith said the district began reviewing how it uses buildings late last year, a move that mirrors actions taken by other districts across North Texas. Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Grapevine-Colleyville, Lewisville and Fort Worth ISD have all closed campuses in recent years, often facing backlash from parents.
District leaders point to rising costs and limited funding. Smith said schools have received little additional money from the state despite higher electric bills, increased cost of living and declining enrollment in some neighborhoods.
Classrooms that aren’t full, aging buildings and fewer students have put campuses like Blanton under scrutiny.
“I don’t see a situation with declining enrollment with such a high dollar amount that it’s going to be required to repair that facility,” Smith said.
Blanton has also struggled academically. District leaders say they want to move students to a higher-performing school with more resources, but are still working to identify the best nearby option.
And Blanton may not be the only campus at risk.
“I think that eventually we’ll get to more. We have to take a little more time on some of those to be able to say, ‘Are there other next steps that we should take with them?’” Smith said.
Smith said some campuses may have newer buildings but lower enrollment, while others may be older but more full, requiring a more detailed review.
To avoid mistakes seen in other districts, Arlington ISD said it is hiring two separate consulting firms to analyze enrollment trends before making further recommendations.
No final decisions have been made by the school board. A special meeting for parents is scheduled for next week, and a vote on Blanton Elementary is planned for Jan. 20. District leaders said it will likely be next school year before families learn whether additional campuses will close.