Grand Prairie ISD is the latest on the growing list of North Texas school districts with plans to close schools. 

At Thursday night's meeting of the board of trustees, Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo presented an overview of the optimization plan  proposed to take effect in the 2026-27 school year. The district also published details on its website.

Under the plan, three schools would close entirely: Dickinson Montessori Academy, Morton Elementary School and Travis World Language Academy. 

Dickinson Montessori Academy, currently at 72% capacity, would close, and the students and staff would move into Truman Middle School, which is at 52% capacity. The school would also be reorganized as the Truman Digital Learning Institute, which would serve students pre-k through 8th grade. The school would have a focus on e-sports, coding and artificial intelligence, according to the district's plan. Montessori programming would be discontinued.

Morton Elementary is at 60% of capacity and was constructed in 1942, according to the district. Under the plan, students and staff would be reassigned to five different elementary schools in the district, all of which have newer facilities.

The district's plan would also close Travis World Language Academy, another campus built in 1942. Travis currently runs from pre-k through 8th grade; the elementary school students and staff would be split between Garcia Elementary School and Austin Environmental Science Academy, while the middle school students and staff would move to Fannin Middle School, which sits at 62% capacity.

"Optimizing will streamline specific schools to a more functional size that will benefit our students, our families, and our community. We are making strategic changes to create a better and more efficient learning environment while taking care of all students and keeping high-quality staff," the district's website says.

District enrollment plateaued at just over 29,000 students from 2015-2019, but has since dropped each year. Enrollment currently stands at 25,635. The loss of more than 3,600 students from peak levels represents $22.6 million worth of state funding decline, according to the district.

Factors tied to the decline in enrollment include lower birth rates, more access to other options like charter and virtual schools, and shifts in population patterns for school-aged children, the district said.

GPISD joins other districts like Fort Worth ISD, Plano ISD, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Coppell ISD that have recently closed campuses, or are in the process of doing so. 

The district's timeline includes parent and staff information meetings starting in January. The board also plans to take a vote on the plan next month.