Closings to come From the cover
99 1 Austin Parkway Elementary 2 Dulles Elementary 3 Arizona Fleming Elementary 4 Edgar Glover Jr Elementary 5 Mission West Elementary 6 Ridgegate Elementary 7 Sugar Mill Elementary Schools closing
What’s happening?
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Fort Bend ISD will close seven elementary schools ahead of the 2026-27 school year. The closures—located in the district’s northwest/ central and southeast/central areas—were approved by the FBISD board in multiple 4-3 votes at a March 9 board meeting. Board members Angie Hanan, Adam Schoof and Angie Wierzbicki cast the dissenting votes. The closures come after a Feb. 23 recommendation from the district’s school boundary advisory committee following a January survey, which shows nearly half of respondents were neutral about the potential elementary school closures. However, 34% of all stakeholders were against the closures. Board President Kristin Tassin shared her past experience of rezoning her own daughter as a school board member and said she is taking into account the entire district’s future. However, Hanan said she voted based on what she thought was right, regardless of the consequences. “Some of my votes tonight re ect that I know the burden that has been placed on me by the community, and my votes are based on the fact that I simply can’t surrender my judge based on this perceived threat of being on [the Texas Education Agency’s] radar,” Hanan said.
610
T .
SYNOTT RD.
S. BRAESWOOD BLVD.
6
90
1464
7
90
2
Sugar Land
INDEPENDENCE BLVD.
LEXINGTON BLVD.
90
COURT RD.
6
6
W. FUQUA ST.
4
99
59
INDEPENDENCE BLVD.
CHIMNEY ROCK RD.
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N MAP NOT TO SCALE
Utilization rate Campuses were chosen for consideration based on campus utilization and facility index scores, o cials said.
Current enrollment
62%
527 609 411 340 482 400 524
Austin Parkway
Dulles Arizona Fleming Edgar Glover Jr. Mission West
77%
52%
40%
57%
50%
Ridgegate Sugar Mill
66%
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Fort Bend ISD school closure survey results
The background
The nancials
Strongly oppose 24% Oppose 10% Neutral 49% Support 9% Strongly support 8%
The changes are a part of the district’s three-year boundary planning process due to stabilized enrollment patterns, resulting in under- and over- utilized campuses across the district, Community Impact reported. The consolidation of campuses focuses on seven campuses—each with enrollment under 600 students as of Aug. 29. The most recent facility condition scores indicate the campuses are less stable in terms of infrastructure, Zonda o cials previously said. Although the district was initially built for 100,000 students, Superintendent Marc Smith said the student population has not exceeded 80,000 students in several years, creating the need for the district to adjust. “The challenge that we are living with is that enrollment is a re ection of a long-term shift that we’re seeing and is putting us in the situation that we’re in, having to make these decisions,” Smith said.
The closures come as district o cials in March predicted a $38.5 million budget shortfall for the 2026-27 school year—a 46.95% growth from the $26.2 million initial shortfall projection last summer. This comes after the district saw 1,801 fewer students enrolled in the 2025-26 school year than were budgeted, Chief Financial O cer Bryan Guinn said.
Only 17% of all stakeholders support the closure of schools.
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Projected enrollment scenarios vs. actual enrollment
Reduced scenario
10-year forecast
Accelerated scenario
Actual
By the numbers
81K
$26.2 million initial projected shortfall for 2026-27 $38.5 million March projected shortfall for 2026-27
46.95% increase
80K
80,206
79,663
79K
$2 million in expected savings from the closures in the rst year $5 million-$7 million in estimated annual savings from the closures
The district has seen fewer students year over year.
78K
78,150
0
2023-24
2024-25
2025-26
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: FORT BEND ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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