On Tuesday, the Fort Worth ISD Board of Trustees approved the closing of its last sixth-grade campus.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Fort Worth ISD withdrew its proposal to close several middle schools in May after heavy opposition from the community. During that time, Board President Camille Rodriguez said, per the Fort Worth Report, that the district would move forward with school renovations, including renovations on campuses previously slated to be closed and consolidated due to flagging enrollment.
However, during the most recent board gathering on August 27, all Fort Worth school board members collectively agreed to shut down McLean Sixth Grade Center and integrate it into McLean Middle School.
This choice was made after the board had previously delayed voting on several consolidation proposals affecting seven middle school campuses. The decision was reached after the trustees listened to a range of perspectives during a public comment session.
“Combining McLean 6th and McLean Middle School into a single campus would allow the district to address the inequitable distribution of resources among schools and create improved opportunities for all students to attend a thriving campus community,” Fort Worth ISD school documents stated, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “This would also increase alignment of middle grades instructional programming by consolidating the last remaining sixth-grade campus in Fort Worth ISD.”
The August 27 school board meeting was met with numerous speakers during public comment, with some supporting school consolidation for financial reasons.
“I am speaking in support of the consolidation of McLean Sixth and McLean Middle School so that we can ensure that the middle school bond money is used as intended to improve the learning environment for middle schoolers. If the bond money is spent at McLean Sixth now, and that building is repurposed or sold in a few years, middle school students would not get the benefit of the bond investment long term,” McLean Sixth Grade Center parent Jessica Morrison said, per the Star-Telegram.
Fort Worth ISD Trustee Kevin Lynch said it was an emotional decision but necessary for the district’s future.
“I feel very strongly that the teachers and the people in that building are the most important people to impact kids, but I do think this goes a long way in addressing some of the things that really need to be addressed at those campuses, and I support it,” Lynch said, per the Star-Telegram.
The vote on August 27 only endorsed action on McLean Sixth Grade Campus and McLean Middle.
Enrollment has been falling in many school districts across the state due to poor student achievement outcomes and perceived politicization of curricula.
For its part, Fort Worth ISD has been struggling for years. The district saw just 32% of its students score at grade level on the STAAR exam during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the latest Texas Education Agency accountability report. This is worse than struggling Dallas ISD, which saw only 41% of students score at grade level on the STAAR exam that school year and the state average of 48%.