Parents protest Fort Worth ISD school closures amid budget deficit
The ongoing fight against school closures in Fort Worth ISD continues.
As reported, the district is considering closing schools due to a multi-million-dollar budget deficit.
Thursday night, parents protested this.
"We really felt like as a group of parents, community members, and school supporters that we needed to have our voices heard at this point in the process," Jennifer Wedemeier said.
She said her kids are already being impacted.
"They are really scared," she said. "They love their school. They love their teachers. They love this community. They want their school to stay open."
Currently, Fort Worth ISD is looking at potentially closing more than 20 schools to address a $17 million budget deficit.
As the district faces declining enrollment, one goal is to have around 550-800 students at each elementary school.
It's something parents in the Arlington Heights feeder pattern are protesting.
Two of their elementary schools, North Hi Mount Elementary and South Hi Mount, were recently presented at a school board workshop as possible options for closure. A committee of community members and a task force made up of parents and staff made the suggestion.
"They're like you don't have enough families who live in the neighborhood and that is also an incorrect statistic," parent Vahista Ussery said. "So, their data is so wrong. We have a group of parents working together. Accountants, lawyers, engineers, MBAs. We're all digging through this data, there's so many flaws."
Incoming Superintendent Dr. Karen Molinar stresses that this process will take months to complete. Implementation will take years. She continues to encourage feedback as the district looks at the next steps.
If you're a Fort Worth ISD parent, the district will be hosting a community webinar next Monday from 6-7 p.m.
