The Aldine ISD school board voted Tuesday to close six of its 75 campuses, deciding to send about 2,800 students to other schools across the district after weeks of deliberation and community feedback.

District officials said the closures, which include two early education centers and four elementary schools, will save the district roughly $32 million annually as it deals with a budget deficit projected to hit $65 million this school year. The six campuses will remain open through the end of the current school year.

The move marks one of the more drastic measures taken in recent years by a large urban school district facing dwindling enrollment and mostly stagnant state funding. Aldine has lost about 10,000 students, or nearly 20 percent of its student body, over the past decade, largely due to declining birth rates and increased competition from charter schools.

“We wish we could have 100,000 students and 100 campuses, but with what’s going on, we have to do what’s best for the district,” Board President Kimberly Booker said Tuesday.

Six of Aldine’s seven board members voted in favor of closing the campuses, many of which are decades old and need significant repairs. Trustee Connie Esparza recounted her visits to campuses slated for closure as a person with disabilities, noting how many students will now attend newer, more accessible schools.

“For a person who is handicapped to walk the pavement that is not even smooth … our students deserve better,” Esparza said. “We’re making a change and we’re moving the kiddos with a purpose. Understand that we are there as board members to support the change, to support the teachers.”

Trustee Viola Garcia cast the sole votes against the proposed closures, telling her fellow board members she could not support shutting down any school with over 400 students while other financial solutions remained on the table. Garcia cast one vote in support of closing Raymond Elementary.

“I am confident that rather than depend mostly on this optimization work, the board’s goals are to work with the administration and the parents to explore every option to increase enrollment and attendance, and that other cost-cutting efforts that least impact teaching and learning will occur,” Garcia said in Tuesday’s meeting.

Aldine trustees voted last year to close three elementary schools as part of an ongoing districtwide “optimization” plan to shutter aging and low-enrollment campuses. This year, Aldine officials originally proposed closing seven campuses before opting to keep Hoffman Middle School open.

Aldine administrators have said the district chose the six campuses largely based on building conditions, enrollment trends and academic performance. Garcia questioned the district’s selection process during a board study session Monday, noting that some Aldine schools have fewer students than campuses that were on the chopping block.

‘Didn’t expect anything different’

No community members spoke out against the proposed closures at Tuesday’s board meeting. One Raymond Elementary School left an online public comment read during the meeting that urged the district to keep the campus open.

Families at the affected districts have lamented the potential closures of their campuses, with some concerned about how their children will get to schools located farther away from their homes. Many Aldine families walk to drop off and pick up their children at school. 

At the same time, some families said they understood the district’s financial predicament. There hasn’t been a vocal, organized opposition to school closures in Aldine each of the past two years.

In a phone interview after the vote, Oleson Elementary School parent Rebeca Rivera mourned the loss of her neighborhood school, located two minutes from her family home. Her fourth grader will now likely finish elementary school at Johnson Elementary, a ten-minute drive down the road. 

“I’m sad, to be honest,” Rivera said. “But I didn’t expect anything different. I knew they were going to do what they wanted to do.” 

More closures to come?

Texas public school districts receive funding based on their student attendance and enrollment. As they lose students, they’re often forced to cut costs — with school closures typically seen as a last resort. 

In recent years, several large Texas districts have shuttered schools to shrink funding gaps. Spring Branch ISD’s school board voted in 2023 to close five campuses, despite parent and community pushback. San Antonio ISD leaders approved 15 school closures the same year. Fort Worth ISD is currently weighing a plan to close 20 campuses over the next 10 years.

Meanwhile, Texas’ largest school district, Houston ISD, has lost 15 percent of its enrollment over the past decade. HISD Superintendent Mike Miles vowed not to shutter any schools this year, though the district’s failed 2024 bond proposal called for combining several campuses.

Aldine leaders have warned that they will continue to evaluate potential school closures each year. Trustee Randy Bates said Tuesday that the district must continue to slash costs while public school advocates lobby for a substantial increase in state funding.

District officials have not yet outlined how they plan to combat declining enrollment and further close the deficit in their 2025-26 budget, which must be approved by the end of June. Aldine remains on steady financial ground, with healthy reserves totaling about $400 million as of last year, but the district can’t afford multiple years of large deficits.

“It’s not over,” Bates said. “We need to balance the budget.”

Brooke Kushwaha covers Aldine, Alief, Pasadena and Spring ISDs for the Landing’s education team. Find her @BrookeKushwaha on X and Bluesky, or reach her directly at brooke@houstonlanding.org.

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