Coppell ISD could vote to close its oldest school

Coppell ISD trustees are scheduled to vote Monday evening to close Pinkerton Elementary. The school first opened in 1928 and is the district's oldest.

Coppell ISD is facing a $6.8 million budget shortfall for the current school year. The closure of Pinkerton at the end of this school year would save $2.1 million.

Across the street from the school Monday morning, a couple dozen parents and kids protested the potential closure.

"Save Pinkerton, save our schools, don't close any schools down at this time," says Nate Ruby. "It's not going to solve the budget issue."

Julie Waters launched a Facebook group called, "Keep ALL Coppell Schools Open." She says the district should first consider consolidating bus routes or changing the high school schedule.

"We're asking the school board to really, fully consider those options first before taking away something our children hold so dear," she says.

Waters says she hoped setting up outside the school as parents dropped off their kids would convince more to speak at the meeting Monday evening.

She says the closure of Pinkerton would send some students to Wilson Elementary, which is a dual language school. Waters says adding more students would displace those learning English as a second language.

"We're asking those same kids whose parents may not be able to advocate for them to get on a bus and go all the way across town," Waters says. "They're spending an extra 30 or 45 minutes a day on a bus when they don't have to."

When discussions about the closure started, Coppell ISD said students would be moved to Wilson and Austin Elementary Schools. The district says those schools were chosen because they have open seats, so class sizes could remain the same.

Waters says she hopes Monday's demonstration will also send a message to state lawmakers who return to Austin in January. The Texas comptroller estimates the state will have a $16.7 billion surplus at the end of the current budget cycle.

The state's basic allotment for schools has remained $6,160 since 2019. The teachers' union, Texas AFT, says that number would need to increase by $1,200 to match inflation.

"That's why schools across Texas are closing," Waters says. "That has to stop. If parents in Coppell, Texas, a well-off district, are upset, how is this affecting schools all across Texas?"

The Texas Public Policy Foundation has described claims school funding has not increased as "deceptive and misleading." Districts also receive additional funding for special education students and those learning English as a second language.

The organization cites figures from the Texas Education Agency showing funding has increased 51% over the past ten years while student attendance has increased just seven percent. Texas Public Policy Foundation says additional funding comes from local property taxes, so the state actually spends about $12,000 per student, "nearly twice as much what the myth promoters claim."

Coppell ISD's board meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Monday.

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