Dozens of parents, students protest proposed school closures in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD
The district is considering closing four campuses as it faces a budget shortfall and declining enrollment. McCoy, Furneaux, and Central elementary schools, along with Long Middle School, are all on the chopping block.
"It's not a done thing yet," said Rosie Ramos, one of the Central Elementary School parents who came to the protest. "We want our kids to see and the board to see that we have an opinion, we have a voice, and ours is a no."
The majority of people at the protest represented McCoy Elementary School, one of the highest-rated schools in the district.
"The data that they've shown us so far isn't really matching up with why they would want to close their number one school," said Nova Broome, whose child attends McCoy.
McCoy parents have been combing through financial records and performance evaluations, trying to understand why the district wants to permanently shut the school's doors.
"It just doesn't make sense," said Mary Patton, a McCoy parent. "Immediately thinking of the impact not only on my kids who are in it and future students coming into McCoy, but the teachers and the community that we've really developed within the school… This is a huge loss and wrong."
Families say McCoy is the heartbeat of the neighborhood, and it's highly regarded for its LEAP program for exceptionally gifted students.
According to CFBISD, it's an old building in a feeder pattern that currently has four elementary schools all located within a mile of each other, so closing it would improve district-wide utilization.
"It is a difficult circumstance that we are faced with," said Randy Schackmann, president of the CFBISD Board of Trustees.
The district says that closing the four campuses would create up to $9 million in savings within the first year. CFBISD is currently facing a $19 million budget deficit.
"You can only go so long with deficit budgets," Schackmann said. "And so we engaged the services of several outstanding educational consultants, both demographers, and space utilization consultants and just did a look at the district from top to bottom."
Schackmann says the recommendations were made after an eight-month study into the district's financial, infrastructure, and enrollment challenges. The consolidation plan is expected to reduce more than 2,300 empty seats in the district.
"We need to right size effectively so that we are able to accomplish what we want to do today and tomorrow for our students because this district has always been about high achievement, and we want to continue that," said Schackmann.
In light of that, CBS News Texas asked Schackmann why the district would close its highest performing elementary school.
"That's a good question. And one of the questions that I would come back with is, how are you determining it is one of the highest rated schools in the district?" he said. "They perform extremely well, as well as do other schools."
Schackmann said he feels for the McCoy families, but the board has to look at what's best for the future of the entire district. He also said the board is committed to making sure the LEAP program stays as intact as possible while moving to another elementary campus if McCoy is closed.
"We recognize this is a difficult, challenging time," Schackmann said. "It is a difficult circumstance that we are faced with. And this is probably the hardest vote I've ever faced as a board member. We want the best for our students and our schools."
The board is set to vote on the proposal on Thursday, March 6.
"The motto of the district is 'High Expectations for All' and McCoy, our school, is showing that motto," said Maiko Surmidea, whose children attend the school. "The decision to close down the school, it doesn't align with that value. So that's why the parents are rightfully so frustrated. We're trying to advocate for this school to keep from closing because it's wrongfully chosen."
Parents believe the board should consider other options to address the district's problems.
"We shouldn't be rushing a decision like this," Broome said. "I feel like the parents weren't aware until the last minute. They're doing the proposal February 6 and the vote in March, the very next month. So in 30 days, that's not enough time to make a decision."
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