Four Richardson elementary schools will be closing as the district struggles with declining enrolments and lower revenues.
This has been a difficult process for everyone including kids, parents, teachers, trustees, and administrators.
Last night, parents made one final appeal to the school board with some saying their children would be split up from close friends and beloved teachers. Others blamed administration failures for the district's budget crunch.
But Superintendent Tabitha Branum says the numbers are inescapable. In January, trustees reviewed a demographic report that projects a decrease of approximately 3500 students in Richardson over the next five years, a drop of nearly ten percent.
Fewer students means lower payments from the state which are apportioned on a per-student basis. Branum says the consolidation plan will reduce operating expenditures by nearly $11 million a year.
As agreed to last night, four elementary schools will close including Greenwood Hills, Spring Ridge, Spring Valley, and Thurgood Marshall. Students there will be moved into neighboring schools which have empty desks. All of this will be accomplished in time for the start of school this Fall.
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