Southlake Carroll may shutter school, as enrollment and funding decline
Southlake Carroll trustees could decide to close the Durham intermediate campus as the district is seeing declining enrollment and fewer dollars from the state.
The board could vote to close Durham next month, but the campus would remain open until the fall of 2027.
On Monday, the board heard recommendations from a 19-member “tiger team,” or task force, of parents, teachers, board members and school administrators that would involve closing the school and moving fifth-graders to elementary campuses and the sixth-graders to middle schools.
The middle schools would shift to grades 6, 7 and 8, and there would not be any changes to the high schools, said district spokesperson Jeff Brady, who presented the committee’s recommendations to trustees.
The task force began meeting in September, he said.
In 2019, Carroll saw its peak enrollment of 8,525 students, but it has declined since then. The enrollment is at 7,870, and the district has lost around $8 million in funding since 2019, Brady said. Projections indicate that Carroll could lose 100 to 150 students per year over the next five years.
Durham is in the most need of upgrades and repairs, which would cost around $8 million, Brady said. The district also has around 100 empty classrooms, and the district pays to maintain and heat and cool them.
“Is that really the best use of our taxpayer dollars?” he said.
Brady said if the board votes to close Durham, the change wouldn’t take effect until 2027. The task force wanted a scenario that would create the least disruption for students and teachers.
The district also wants to keep the elementary schools intact, calling them a treasure for the community because of their high achievements and recognized programs.
Board president Cameron Bryan praised the work of the task force and said the recommendation to close Durham wasn’t made lightly.
“I would like to emphasize that this is 18 months away,” he said.
“This is not like our neighboring districts, and districts around the state that decided, Uh oh, we’re in financial hurt here, and we need to close campuses immediately.”
He added that Carroll has been “incredibly fiscally conservative” over the past five years, and has reduced the tax rate and paid down debt.
Bryan said Carroll is in the process of selling surplus property that will net “tens of millions of dollars.”
Durham sits on about 30 acres of prime, residential property, Bryan said.