Fort Worth ISD families rally to save their campuses as the district finalizes school closure list
Fort Worth families are rallying to save their campuses as Fort Worth Independent School District finalizes plans to close or consolidate more than a dozen schools.
FWISD is hosting a series of community meetings this week and next to address concerns and gather feedback as it starts to name schools staff will recommend for closure or consolidation from a list with about 20 possibilities.
The district said it must right-size FWISD to deal with a $17 million deficit and declining enrollment. FWISD currently maintains facilities built for 96,000 students, while enrollment is now only about 70,000 and continues to decrease.
"When we saw that J.T. Stevens was on the list for possible closure, of course, we were shocked, sad, angry, confused," said Rachel Cotto, the J.T. Stevens Elementary School PTA president.
Families at J.T. Stevens Elementary in southwest Fort Worth are doing everything they can to get the district to take their campus off the chopping block.
"It would make me feel very sad because I don't want an empty building across the street and also, where would all the kids go and learn?" said 11-year-old Joey June Barker, a fifth-grade student at J.T. Stevens. "There is a lot of people that really care about this school, and it's a very good school."
Joey June has been attending J.T. Stevens since pre-K, and her dad attended the school too. She was one of the parents, students and teachers who have been canvassing the neighborhood surrounding the school to invite people to the district's community meeting to make their voices heard. They hope a big turnout will make FWISD reconsider.
"There's decisions that are having to be made that are not easy; however, we can expand on their growth and we are just an asset to them," said Monica Hernandez, a J.T. Stevens parent and PTA board member. "We want to be able to hear options that will benefit us, not instead cut us and our lifeline short here."
J.T. Stevens opened in 1967, and its supporters say it's a staple in the community with a highly sought-after Applied Learning program.
"We've had families that have uprooted and come into the community specifically for our choice program here, and they've invested in that," Hernandez said.
Hernandez and Cotto said the Applied Learning program has a wait list.
"So we see that it could be an easy transition for our school to become a school of choice and therefore have a very attractive program in southwest Fort Worth," Cotto said. "Southwest Fort Worth is the most rapid growing area of our city."
They want to see J.T. Stevens continue to grow with it, building on its legacy of more than 50 years.
"I think that the best-case scenario would be that it doesn't close," said Joey June.
Fort Worth ISD is holding four community meetings this week, and three next week, including on at J.T. Stevens on Monday, May 5.
No formal decisions have been made yet, but the board of trustees could vote on which schools to close by the end of May.
FWISD Community Meetings:
Tuesday, April 29 | 6-7 p.m.
- Riverside Applied Learning Center Facility Master Planning Community Meeting
- 3600 Fossil Drive, Fort Worth, TX
Wednesday, April 30 | 6-7 p.m.
- Charles Nash Elementary School Facility Master Planning Community Meeting
- 401 Samuels Ave., Fort Worth, TX
Thursday, May 1 | 6-7 p.m.
- Harlean Beal Elementary School Facility Master Planning Community Meeting
- 5615 Forest Hill Drive, Fort Worth, TX
Monday, May 5 | 6-7 p.m.
- J.T. Stevens Elementary School Facility Master Planning Community Meeting
- 6161 Wrigley Way, Fort Worth, TX
Monday, May 5 | 6-7 p.m.
- H.V. Helbing Campus Facility Master Planning Community Meeting
- 3524 N. Crump Street, Fort Worth, TX
Wednesday, May 7 | 6-7 p.m.
- South Hills Pyramid Facility Master Planning Community Meeting
- 6101 McCart Ave., Fort Worth, TX
