The Grand Prairie ISD school board on Thursday unexpectedly hit pause on an anticipated vote to close three elementary campuses, opting instead to visit each school and listen to families and staff before making a call. The district has floated an “optimization” plan that would close Dickinson Montessori Academy, Delmas F. Morton Elementary and Travis World Language Academy, sending students to nearby campuses. Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo has pointed to declining enrollment and rising maintenance costs as the driving forces behind the proposal. Trustees say the delay gives families a window to make their case ahead of site visits and the next round of meetings.
Trustees Pull Closure Vote, Opt For Campus Visits
Board leadership told the superintendent they were not comfortable moving ahead with the closure vote and asked that the item be removed from the meeting agenda. According to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, trustees agreed to travel to each of the three campuses under consideration so parents, teachers and staff could speak directly with board members. The move gives the community more time to dissect the district’s plan before any binding decision is made.
Three Schools On The Chopping Block
The district’s proposal targets Dickinson Montessori Academy, Delmas F. Morton Elementary and Travis World Language Academy for consolidation or closure. CBS Texas reports the plan would discontinue Montessori programming at Dickinson and repurpose the Truman campus as the Truman Digital Learning Institute, with a focus on esports, coding and artificial intelligence. District officials say students and staff at Morton and Travis would be reassigned to surrounding campuses…