Dallas Independent School District Superintendent Stephanie Elizondo announced Tuesday a proposal to close 11 schools at the end of the current academic year as the district grapples with a sustained decline in student enrollment that has left many campuses operating well below capacity while stretching district resources across an inefficient footprint.
The proposed closures, which must still be approved by the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees at its February meeting, would affect elementary, middle, and high school campuses spread across several Dallas neighborhoods. The announcement immediately drew emotional responses from parents, teachers, and community members who said the schools being targeted were vital anchors in their neighborhoods.
“Closing a school is never an easy decision, and we do not take this lightly,” Superintendent Elizondo said at a press conference Tuesday. “But Dallas ISD has lost approximately 22,000 students over the past decade, and we cannot continue to sustain campuses that are functioning at 40 or 50 percent capacity. We owe it to our remaining students to consolidate and invest more deeply in the schools where we concentrate.”
District enrollment data show that Dallas ISD currently serves approximately 143,000 students — down from a peak of more than 165,000 in 2015. Officials attributed the decline to a combination of factors, including competition from charter schools, lower birth rates in the city’s urban core, demographic shifts, and the outmigration of families to suburban districts in the surrounding region.
The 11 proposed campuses were selected using a formula that weighed utilization rates, building condition scores, proximity to other district schools, academic performance trends, and access to transportation. District officials said students from closed campuses would be reassigned to higher-performing schools within reasonable travel distances, and that support staff would be retained where possible at receiving campuses.
Community members packed Tuesday’s press conference and several expressed fierce opposition. “Our school is the heart of this neighborhood,” said Alicia Mendez, whose two children attend one of the proposed closure campuses on the city’s West Side. “When you close a school, you don’t just move kids. You destroy a community. We are not going to accept this without a fight.”
The Dallas ISD Board of Trustees said it would hold community listening sessions at each of the affected campuses before the February vote to allow parents, staff, and community members to weigh in on the proposal. Board President Carolyn King urged the community to participate in the process.
State education officials said they were monitoring the situation but noted that decisions about school closure rested with the local district. The Texas Education Agency said it would provide guidance to the district on the consolidation process but did not indicate any intent to intervene.
Teachers union representatives said they were reviewing the proposal and had concerns about job security and the transition process for both students and staff. The union said it would be present at all community listening sessions and was prepared to advocate for affected employees through the district’s negotiation process.
If approved, the closures would take effect at the end of the 2025-26 school year, with students receiving reassignment notifications and transportation information by late April. District officials said they expected the consolidation to generate approximately $18 million in annual operational savings that would be reinvested in instructional programs and campus improvements at remaining schools.
