Aldine ISD leaders propose closing 7 schools, schedule vote for late February

Aldine ISD’s school board expects to vote in February on whether to close seven schools, as the district continues to face budget issues brought on by declining enrollment and no major increases in state funding.

District administrators recommended during a board workshop Tuesday that trustees close two early education campuses, four elementary schools and a middle school ahead of the 2025-26 school year. Administrators said the campuses were chosen after considering numerous factors, including current enrollment size, student demographics, building issues and academic ratings.

The vote will mark the second year in a row that leaders in Aldine, the Houston region’s sixth-largest district, will decide whether to shutter some of its roughly 75 campuses. The district’s board of trustees voted in February 2024 to close three elementary schools and send students to nearby campuses for the current school year. 

The latest proposal comes as part of the district’s plan to “optimize” its facilities by closing lower-enrollment schools and sending students attending those campuses to schools with available space. Most of the campuses recommended for closure rank among the smallest schools in Aldine.

Aldine Superintendent LaTonya Goffney said district leaders knew they would have to make tough decisions in 2025 as the district continues to bleed students and dollars. District leaders said the seven school closures would potentially save the district $32.5 million annually. 

“This is our second year evaluating how we can best optimize our schools and continue to do it in a way that not only continues to put us in a better position but also respects our community and helps us move forward,” Goffney said.  

Aldine’s enrollment has fallen over the past decade from about 70,000 students to roughly 58,000 in 2023-24. The change is largely due to declining birth rates, fewer families living in the district and the growth of charter schools in northern Harris County. About 6,500 students living in Aldine’s boundaries attended charter schools in 2023-24, up from about 2,400 a decade ago.

At the same time, Aldine has not seen a significant boost in state funding over the past several years, even as costs have risen with inflation. Aldine ran a $65 million deficit in 2023-24 in its general fund, which covers day-to-day costs like teacher salaries and building maintenance, and passed a budget in June with an estimated $98 million deficit.

The district remains on solid financial footing, with nearly $400 million in a “rainy day” fund that grew significantly amid the pandemic thanks to federal stimulus money sent to schools across the country.

---

related to education

‘Not where we want to be’: Aldine ISD students, staff struggling under district leadership

by Miranda Dunlap and Angelica Perez / Staff Writers

---

Adrian Bustillos, Aldine’s chief transformation officer, said the district is planning an “ongoing effort to maximize and optimize our district” that will extend beyond 2025.

“This is not a one-time fix or one-year approach,” Bustillos said. “This is Year Two, and we’ll continue to go through that process until we’re able to flatline on enrollment and make sure we can maximize our building utilization.” 

While school closures are often one of the most difficult and controversial decisions made by a school board, Aldine leaders received minimal public criticism for last year’s vote. This time around, Trustee Viola García emphasized the importance of community input and informing families about the impact of closures.

“Communities are feeling a sense that there is an abandonment,” García said, noting how school closures are affecting districts across Texas. San Antonio ISD, Spring Branch ISD and Lewisville ISD in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have closed campuses in the past few years, with each citing budget shortfalls as the reason.

---

related to education

How are Texas public schools funded? And do they get equal money?

by Brooke Kushwaha / Staff Writer

---

García urged her fellow board members and district staff to consider other plans beyond school closures in the face of declining enrollment.

“I don’t want to be part of a discussion where we just take it for granted that we are going to lose students and lose students and lose students and lose students without discussing, to greater extent, very serious initiatives that attempt to curb that loss,” García said. 

If the board approves the district’s recommendations, the district will begin community meetings to inform families about the closures ahead of the 2025-26 school year. The proposal also involves moving a projected 265 students from Dunn Elementary School to Calvert Elementary School to help with overcrowding.

The post Aldine ISD leaders propose closing 7 schools, schedule vote for late February appeared first on Houston Landing.