School Closures in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
During an emotionally charged meeting that lasted over four hours, school board members of Grapevine-Colleyville ISD on Monday heard recommendations to close two elementary schools during a standing room-only session.
The Education Master Planning Committee, the group tasked with exploring consolidation plans, proposed shuttering Bransford Elementary in Colleyville and Dove Elementary in Grapevine to the board.
The board heard proposals but took no formal action on the recommendations. The trustees are expected to vote in December on the final plan.
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The Education Lab
Proposed Closures and Consolidations
If ultimately approved, Bransford Elementary will consolidate with Colleyville and O.C. Taylor Elementary, while Dove Elementary will be rezoned to Cannon and Silver Lake Elementary.
The committee also recommended selling several properties. The district will “make every effort” to place all employees from closing campuses in another position within the district, said Superintendent Brad Schnautz in a districtwide email on Friday.
“This has been a very difficult time for our district, and I know these recommendations come with many emotions,” Schnautz wrote. “However, we stand firm in the belief that at the heart of these recommendations is the best, most sustainable path forward.”
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Community Reaction
The prospect of closures has left the community on edge as parents urged the district to slow the closure plan down.
During a marathon meeting Monday that began at 5:30 p.m. and lasted until shortly before 10 p.m., about 70 parents, alumni and students lined the walls of the room, waiting for their turn to address the board during the public comment portion of the meeting. The speakers shared favorite memories at the schools and expressed frustration with the impending decision.
Some audience members clapped and cheered after people took to the microphone. Others wore bright red Bransford Elementary merchandise, with one child carrying red and blue pom poms.
Parents have been urging the trustees to pursue alternatives, like finding ways to increase enrollment and revenue. They’ve held meetings to brainstorm strategies to save their schools, drafting ideas and questions on posters taped on walls.
Renee Hart received the notification that Dove Elementary — where her kids attend — was named two hours before attending an outdoor movie night hosted by the PTA. Students were going to watch How to Train Your Dragon, enjoy a picnic and dangle on the playground. Teachers tried to “put on a good face, but there were a lot of tears,” she said.
The news weighed on her, but by Monday night, Hart was leaning across the podium, looking trustees in the eye and passionately calling for more transparency with the consolidation process.
“Show leadership by slowing this process,” she said. “Voting to close schools in December destroys our legacy and yours.”
Other GCISD parents supported closing the schools. Zack Penn, who spoke during public comment, encouraged parents to consider the long-term stability of the district and set aside their feelings about individual campuses that may be closed.
“We’re adapting. I don’t believe that we’re closing campuses,” he said. “I believe that we’re strengthening them, because buildings don’t shape the children. Educators do.”
Enrollment Decline and Financial Woes
To justify the closures, district leaders cite the declining enrollment in GCISD, which serves more than 13,000 students. During the 2025-26 school year, two elementary schools are operating below 60% of their capacity, and four are below 75%, according to the district website.
The number of kindergartners is outpacing the number of graduating seniors. In 2025, 692 kindergartners entered the school district, while 978 high school seniors are expected to graduate next year.
GCISD’s predicament is one plaguing school districts across North Texas.
Along with the expansion of school choice coming next school year, parents have more latitude than ever in where to send their kids — private, charter and home schools. The enrollment crisis has been worsened by declining birth rates, rising housing costs and neighborhood aging.
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Amid enrollment decline, school districts are struggling with tighter budgets, and officials present school closures as a difficult, yet necessary way to ease their financial woes. In a historic funding measure in May, the state boosted the base amount of money districts receive per student by $55. Experts say the increase would need to be more than $1,300 to keep up with inflation.
“This is the situation that the district finds itself in,” said Paula Barbaroux, chief operations officer for the district. “The conversation about inefficiencies and facilities could not be prolonged or pushed down the road.”
For GCISD, closing up to three elementary schools would save over $3 million, GCISD officials said at the Oct. 28 meeting. District leaders say that decision could alleviate the uphill battle ahead of them: an estimated budget shortfall reaching over $6 million by fiscal year 2029.
“These recommendations are not simply about closing
