Lewisville ISD is considering closing or consolidating as many as 20 campuses amid a budget shortfall and declining enrollment.
The district faces a $4.5 million deficit and nearly 10,000 fewer students in the next decade, said Superintendent Lori Rapp and a Lewisville ISD committee looking into efforts to become more efficient. Closing or consolidating 20 campuses will be one possible result, said Rapp, to 鈥渞ight size鈥� the district.
In a school committee meeting this week, Rapp told stakeholders that the district鈥檚 enrollment decline would result in millions less from the state.
鈥淲e peaked in enrollment in around 2015-16-17 at 53,000 and we鈥檙e projected over the next 10 years to stabilize at about 45,000,鈥� Rapp said.
She said LISD is already operating with a deficit, with 鈥渘o indication at this time that the Legislature is going to address the basic allotment when they reconvene in January.鈥� Lawmakers failed to pass a school funding measure last session, leaving the state鈥檚 basic allotment the same as it鈥檚 been for years.
The committee of staff, parents, and community members said the 20 schools chosen for possible closure or consolidation were determined based on several factors, including a school鈥檚 student capacity compared to the number of students currently enrolled, costs of insuring a building and its operating costs.
The assessment identified 10 schools for closure or boundary realignment: B.B. Owen, Creekside, Ethridge, Garden Ridge, Heritage, Highland Village and Polser elementary schools, and DeLay, Downing and Lakeview middle schools. Students might then be re-assigned to Bluebonnet, Camey, Degan, Hebron Valley, Memorial, Morningside Old Settlers, or Rockbrook elementary schools.
Middle school students might then attend Creek Valley or Shadow Ridge.
Officials said no decision, if any, would be made until December of this year.
Lewisville joins other north Texas districts that have already announced school closures or possible closures in the coming year, in the face of budget deficits and enrollment losses. They include Richardson, Plano, Irving and Fort Worth.
Bill Zeeble is 四虎影院鈥檚 education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on X .
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