Lewisville ISD latest North Texas district to consider school closures to address budget deficit

LEWISVILLE — Another North Texas school district is considering school closures and boundary changes to address declining enrollment and state funding issues.

Lewisville Independent School District is facing a $4.5 million budget deficit.

"And so if we do not make some financial changes, then what we would see is that deficit would grow," said Dr. Lori Rapp, the superintendent of LISD.

The district tasked a committee with analyzing enrollment trends, building capacity, operational costs and staffing to determine ways to optimize efficiency. On Monday, they presented the school board with a preliminary list of 20 campuses to review for possible boundary adjustments and/or closure.

Facility Retirement and/or Boundary Adjustments

• B.B. Owen Elementary
• Creekside Elementary
• Ethridge Elementary
• Garden Ridge Elementary
• Heritage Elementary
• Highland Village Elementary
• Polser Elementary
• DeLay Middle School
• Downing Middle School
• Lakeview Middle School

Boundary Adjustments

• Bluebonnet Elementary
• Camey Elementary
• Degan Elementary
• Hebron Valley Elementary
• Memorial Elementary
• Morningside Elementary
• Old Settlers Elementary
• Rockbrook Elementary
• Creek Valley Middle School
• Shadow Ridge Middle School

The majority are elementary schools.

"When our school district was fast growth in the nineties and the 2000s, the big bulk of buildings that were built in that time were elementaries," Dr. Rapp said.

She says the district now has more facilities than it needs, with homes not turning over to young families and growth moving north.

"We're no longer a district of 53,000," said Rapp. "We're forecasted over the next 10 years to stabilize at about 45,000."

If you combine that enrollment decline with the fact that state lawmakers haven't increased the basic allotment for students since 2019, it's a recipe for budget cuts.

"Texas lags well behind all other states in funding for public education," the superintendent said. "They're $4,000 behind the national average. We actually have less money now, when you account for inflation, than we did in 2016. So school districts are being forced to look at every single expenditure they have."

It means the district will have to make some tough choices in the months ahead.

"We know you love your schools and we will hear from you if you have a school that is going to be considered for next steps because we will not make decisions in this school district without getting the input of our families that would be impacted," said Rapp. "I promise that your voice will be heard as a part of this process. But I would also tell all of our families to continue to stand up for our public schools and advocate for full funding from the legislature when they convene in January."

The board plans to narrow down exactly which of the 20 campuses will be impacted by the end of October.

In November, they will hold listening sessions with the families and staff at all of those schools so they can make their final decisions by December.