Richardson Edition | April 2024

School consolidation From the cover

New attendance boundary

What’s happening?

Staying open 1 Mohawk Elementary School 2 Canyon Creek Elementary School 3 Northrich Elementary School 4 Yale Elementary School 5 Dartmouth Elementary School 6 Forestridge Elementary School 7 Audelia Creek Elementary School 8 Forest Lane Academy 9 Skyview Elementary School 10 Northlake Elementary School 11 Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet Elementary School 12 Northwood Hills Elementary School Closing 13 Greenwood Hills Elementary School 14 Springridge Elementary School 15 Thurgood Marshall Elementary 16 Spring Valley Elementary School

289

PGBT TOLL

CANYON CREEK BOUNDARY

HILLCREST RD.

Schools selected for consolidation through the district’s Project RightSize program were chosen due to being nearly 60% under capacity and having high maintenance costs because of their age, said Sandra Hayes, assistant superintendent of district operations. New attendance boundaries for the consolidated campuses were drawn in an eort to balance capacity at surrounding schools, avoid having students crossing major roadways and distribute changes across the district’s learning communities. By consolidating the schools and limiting bussing, district ocials expect to save about $10.3 million annually. With other Project RightSize proposals, such as creating a more ecient stang, which is expected to save around $2 million annually, the district’s expected $28 million shortfall would be cut to under $16 million, Branum said. “We are making this [decision] because we do believe [it’s necessary] for the long-term sustainability of the district,” Branum said.

YALE BOUNDARY

CAMPBELL RD.

NORTHRICH BOUNDARY

MOHAWK BOUNDARY

ARAPAHO RD.

NORTHWOOD HILLS BOUNDARY

DARTMOUTH BOUNDARY

E L T L I N E R D .

AUDELIA CREEK BOUNDARY

WALNUTST.

HAMILTON PARK BOUNDARY

635

FORESTRIDGE BOUNDARY

S T L N .

9 15

FOREST LANE BOUNDARY

SKYVIEW BOUNDARY

ROYALLN.

NORTHLAKE BOUNDARY

WALNUT HILL

SOURCE: RICHARDSON ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Actual budget decit Projected budget decit Budget decit without mitigation eorts

How we got here

“We really hoped and leaned on Austin, … and when that funding did not come through, then the urgency of, ‘We have to nd eciencies in our budget; we cannot compensate sta; we cannot maintain student programming,’ was there,” Branum said. Without cost-cutting measures, RISD could see its budget decits increase by more than 557% by scal year 2027-28, according to district ocials.

Richardson ISD’s Project RightSize comes as districts across Texas have not seen an increase in funding from the Legislature since FY 2018-19. During that time, lawmakers passed mandates, such as requiring security at all campuses, that have increased school expenses. Schools are given $6,160 annually per student in state funding, according to the Texas Education Agency.

0 $25M $50M $75M $100M

School year

SOURCE: RICHARDSON ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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