Fort Bend Independent School District’s board of trustees have voted 4–3 to close seven elementary schools ahead of the 2026–2027 school year, citing a growing budget deficit and declining enrollment across the district.
The schools approved for closure Monday are Austin Parkway, Dulles, Arizona Fleming, Edgar Glover Jr., Mission West, Ridgegate, and Sugar Mill elementaries. The closures were first proposed in December as district leaders considered rezoning elementary schools to balance student enrollment and address empty classrooms.
District officials project the budget shortfall could reach $56.4 million next year, and closing the seven campuses is expected to save between $5 and $7 million annually. The district lost 1,588 students between last school year and the current one, with officials pointing to declining birth rates, competition from charter schools, and the state’s new school choice program as contributing factors. The affected schools’ utilization rates range from 40 to 77 percent.
Before the vote, dozens of parents, students, and community members addressed the board urging trustees to reconsider. Some questioned how the closure list was assembled, noting that several of the targeted campuses carried relatively high accountability ratings despite being selected for closure.
“School closures are not the same as school rezoning. School closures are permanent,” parent Christine Wang said. “You can find five to seven million savings elsewhere, but community trust, once lost, is gone.”
Trustee Angie Hanan moved to have each school voted on individually rather than in grouped proposals. That motion largely failed, with only Austin Parkway and Sugar Mill pulled out for separate votes, both of which passed 4–3. The remaining five schools were approved for closure in grouped votes.
Board President Kristin Tassin, who voted in favor of the closures, said the district cannot sustain its programs if all campuses remain open. “My heart breaks for the 3,000 students that are impacted by these changes, but at the end of the day, we have to do what is best for the education of those children as well as the other 70,000 that we’re entrusted with.”
Students from the closed campuses will be reassigned to nearby receiving schools. The board also approved districtwide elementary attendance boundary changes and boundaries for the new Amy Coleman Middle School, set to open in the fall.
Across the greater Houston area, public school districts are grappling with the same combination of falling enrollment and tightening budgets.
Houston ISD’s state-appointed board of managers voted 9–0 in late February to close or consolidate 12 campuses beginning in the 2026–2027 school year, despite intense public opposition. Superintendent Mike Miles cited declining enrollment since 2017 and the mounting cost of operating underutilized facilities.
Aldine ISD and Spring ISD have each voted to close two campuses as well.
