Arlington ISD may close a school campus this year. Here’s what that means
On Tuesday night, the administration for Arlington ISD recommended closing Blanton Elementary School, but the board hasn’t made a decision yet.
Here’s what that could mean for students.
The campus is falling into disrepair, has dwindling enrollment and has been failing on the Texas Education Agency’s report card since 2023. Board President Justin Chapa said at the Thursday meeting that making the decision to close Blanton now would allow the process to stay local.
If the board does not, the state will likely close the campus anyway. That would mean the discussions about what to do would be happening miles away between strangers to Arlington.
Roughly 20 parents spoke against closing the campus at the school board meeting. They primarily asked questions about what would be done to ensure the same bilingual education and how far away a new school might be.
Redrawing the school zones
The administration is working with a demographer to redraw the school zoning borders, which Superintendent Matt Smith said he is hoping to be able to announce to parents at the parent meeting at 6 p.m. on Jan. 14 in the Blanton cafeteria.
Smith said the administration is still determining what schools the students would be reassigned to based on the availability of bilingual and special education programs and the proximity to current Blanton students.
Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Collins said that by state law, the students can only be rezoned to schools that have an A, B or C rating on the TEA report card. Arlington ISD has 52 other elementary schools, five of which are specialty schools. There are 33 elementary schools that rate above a D in Arlington ISD.
Once reassigned schools are announced, Collins said families will still be able to apply for a transfer to a different school.
Transportation
Many of the parents who spoke at the board meeting on Thursday said they walk their children to school and are nervous about the distance they would have to travel to a new school.
Chief Operations Officer Michael Hill said the district’s standard is to provide transportation based on how far away a student’s family lives from the school.
“We would, in earnest, implement that same situation in the new assignments,” Hill said. “Then there’s always this ability or this opportunity to be nimble enough where it makes sense to make some adjustments.”
Will there be overcrowding?
Collins said because of Arlington ISD’s standards, students will not be in overcrowded classrooms. Blanton has about 11 students per teacher, but the maximum number of students per teacher in the district is 22. Collins said many of the elementary schools’ classrooms are “well below” that threshold.
“If the board made a decision that we were going to close Blanton Elementary School, then that would inform the decision that we would make with our HR team to make sure that we had enough teachers on the receiving campuses so that we met those minimum thresholds,” Collins said.
Staff promised new district placements
On Monday, when Blanton staff were first told about the potential school closure, Collins said they were assured to have a job at the district next school year even if Blanton closes.
“We will look carefully at certifications to ensure that we have a good match. And then we will place our employees in a place where there is an opening,” Collins said. “And then if our employees are interested in other positions that are available in the district, they will be able to apply for those to perhaps have a transfer.”
Next steps
The school board discussed the potential closure’s impacts for two hours and a majority agreed to continue the conversation.
A parent information session is set for 6 p.m. on Jan. 14 in the Blanton Elementary School cafeteria. The school board will meet on Jan. 22 as well, but Chapa said he may also schedule a special session for Jan. 20 to continue the board’s conversation.
The school district needs to notify the Texas Education Agency of their decision to close Blanton by Jan. 31, if that’s what they determine to do. If the decision to shutter Blanton is made, Collins said it would be about an eight-month process.
No matter what decision is made, the 2025-2026 school year will continue as normal.