Elementary closure in Fort Worth ISD leads to school attendance zone changes
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Fort Worth ISD school closures
Officials in the Fort Worth Independent School District say that closing and consolidating more than a dozen campuses will save the district millions of dollars over the next four years, allowing them to redirect more money toward academic priorities.
Here’s what to know.
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S.S. Dillow Elementary students will be transferring to three other campuses in the 2025-26 school year after Fort Worth school district officials decided to close it because of foundational issues.
The 88-year-old campus in the Fort Worth Independent School District will officially — and permanently — close after the last day of school, May 22, after the building’s cosmetic defects had been found to be declining rapidly this spring due to “a water leak somewhere within a 2,000 square foot area in the vicinity of the main office and nurse station.” The school’s 432 students in pre-K through fifth grade will be shifted to attend D. McRae Elementary, T.A. Sims Elementary and the Leadership Academy at Maude Logan Elementary in east Fort Worth.
During an Tuesday, April 22 school board meeting that ran into the early hours of Wednesday morning, the school board unanimously approved new attendance boundaries south of East Lancaster Avenue for the area, which will go into effect when students return from summer break in August. District data shows most students — about 176 — will attend the Leadership Academy at Maude Logan Elementary, which is in the P.L. Dunbar High School feeder pyramid. The other two campuses are in the Polytechnic High School feeder pyramid.
“Consolidation of S. S. Dillow Elementary would still allow for ample capacity, with campus utilization rates in the 80% range. This allows for increased operational efficiency and prioritizes resource allocations for the classroom as opposed to maintaining excess square footage,” according to district administrators.
A structural engineer determined current students and staff would be safe to continue using the S.S. Dillow Elementary building for the remainder of the current school year.
Current S.S. Dillow staff members will be offered work elsewhere in the district if they are “in good standing.”
The school’s rapid closure comes as it was already eyed by the district for a long-term closure as part of an ongoing facilities master plan. The campus was one of more than 20 identified in February to potentially close as FWISD grapples with declining enrollment and underutilized school buildings. No S.S. Dillow parents spoke during public comment on Tuesday night, but several others from different schools that are being considered for closures, such as De Zavala Elementary and Edward J. Briscoe Elementary, pleaded with the school board to spare their campuses.
Officials said in district documents that S.S. Dillow’s structural issues were expected to compound into other needed repairs even if the source of the leak was fixed. District officials said on Wednesday that no decisions have been made about the future of the property, and there are no plans to sell any school buildings or the properties they’re located on.
“Costly, extensive, and invasive work would be required to properly isolate the origin source (of the leak), with no guarantee of resolution or further related damage,” according to district officials. “Assuming that the leak could be isolated, additional damage is likely to surface over time as the ground dries and the foundation settles. This movement poses a high risk for further displacement of water and sewer lines, which would lead to additional leaks and needed repairs.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 12:48 AM.
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