The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD school board voted Thursday night to permanently close four schools.  

It's not the only district in North Texas being forced to make tough decisions amid budget deficits.

Coppell, Lewisville, Plano and Richardson ISDs have approved plans to close schools in their respective districts in the past year. Fort Worth ISD is currently considering shuttering more than 20 campuses. Other districts have reduced staffing and made program cuts to help balance the books.

"The majority of school districts in the state of Texas have adopted a deficit budget," said Mike Waldrip, superintendent of Frisco ISD. Closing campuses is one way to reduce costs.

"You can only go so long with deficit budgets," said Randy Schackmann, president of the CFBISD Board of Trustees. However, Schackmann says the district's school closure proposal is not only about the lack of state funding.

"We have 9,800 empty seats in CFB, and we need to not be trying to pay for and make effective education work over nearly 10,000 more seats," he said. "Obviously an increase in the basic allotment would be significant from the standpoint of potentially providing more. Declining birth rates is not an issue of the legislature, but it is an issue we're facing. It's projected on into the future from our demographic studies."

CFBISD is one of several North Texas districts that say they essentially have more school buildings than they need because of declining enrollment. Birth rates, housing prices and increased education options all influence the number of children in public schools. In certain communities, homes aren't turning over to young families.

"We are actually experiencing declining enrollment, and so given that trend not changing, if we continue to decline, there will be a day when we will have to consider closing some campuses, just like a lot of our neighbors have had to do," said Waldrip.

However, the Frisco ISD superintendent said the district's biggest threat remains the lack of state funding. Lawmakers haven't increased the basic allotment for students since 2019.

"Everyone knows there's been significant inflation since 2020, and school districts are feeling it just like everyone else," Waldrip said.

That's why Frisco ISD joined a grassroots movement called Fund Schools First. The coalition of schools and businesses is urging lawmakers to increase public school budgets this session.

"People want to move where there are good schools," said Andrea Coker with the North Texas Commission. "They want to work where there are good schools. The Texas miracle would not be here without a thriving public school system."

Public school advocates say the system needs more money to avoid more cuts and school closures.

"If there's no relief that comes from the state, if we don't get any additional money, then we'll continue to reduce staff," Waldrip said. "We'll continue to cut programs, and we'll just chip away at it, until hopefully there'll be some relief."

Schackmann says state funding problems, declining enrollment, and falling birth rates all contribute to the need to "right size" for the future. According to the district, the plan the board is considering would create up to $9 million in savings in the first year and reduce more than 2,300 empty seats across the district.

Parents fought the CFBISD's plan to close schools. Families with McCoy Elementary have been especially vocal, holding a protest last week urging the board to reconsider as they question the district's data and methodology.