Keller school district walks back plan to close Shady Grove Elementary
The Keller school board will consider a proposal to keep Shady Grove Elementary open as part of its plan to close schools and realign campuses to offset declining enrollment.
The Long-Term Planning Committee recommended in April that the district close the elementary at 1400 Sarah Brooks Drive in Keller along with Bear Creek Intermediate, Parkwood Hill Intermediate and Trinity Meadow Intermediate.
Under the new plan, the district would transition to Pre-K through fifth grade at the elementary schools and sixth to eighth grade at the middle schools for the 2027-28 school year. Bear Creek Intermediate, Parkwood Hill Intermediate and Trinity Meadow Intermediate would close after the 2026-27 school year.
The district expects to save $3 million a year and avoid at least $39 million in improvements at the schools.
About 3,800 students would be affected.
The district would also adjust attendance boundaries in the feeder patterns for Central, Keller and Timber Creek high schools. It also plans to offer open enrollment at schools with the capacity for more students.
Mayor-elect Ross McMullin said he was in favor of keeping Shady Grove Elementary open.
“Great schools make great communities, and Shady Grove Elementary is an absolute treasure,” McMullin said in a statement. “I’m thankful that Shady Grove will remain open because the Board of Trustees and Superintendent believe the same.
“I commend the entire Keller ISD School Board and Superintendent Dr. Cory Wilson for taking the time to listen to hundreds of parents across the community as the District seeks ways to save financial resources without negatively impacting students or our excellent educators. The City of Keller looks forward to strengthening our partnership with the District as we seek innovative ways to serve the Keller ISD community together.”
Richard Deaner, a Keller resident since 2016 and father of a Shady Grove student, said he is happy the district revised proposal and appreciates that board members and Superintendent Cory Wilson listened to the community.
“By thinking outside the box and using ideas like open enrollment to address capacity needs, Dr. Wilson and the board have prioritized the well-being of impacted students and staff,” Deaner said in a statement. “Most importantly, they recognized the immense value in protecting Shady Grove Elementary — a high performing campus that has served as a long-standing bedrock for the community and the district, anchoring our neighborhoods and families for generations.”
Board member Chelsea Kelly said the impact of the decision depends on where families live. Those within the Shady Grove feeder pattern feel very strongly about the community and have generational ties to the school.
“For many in the community the removal of Shady Grove from the consolidation proposal feels like the district heard their concerns and took time to reevaluate,” Kelly said. ”For others across the district, especially within the larger Fort Worth portion of Keller ISD, there’s also valid questions being asked. Many are trying to understand why a campus that was originally included in the consolidation proposal is now being removed after concerns where raised by a relatively small portion of the district population.”
Kelly said families also want to know how this affects the larger picture including teacher raises, capital improvements long-term financial stability and restructuring talks about the feeder patterns.
She also said the district is still feeling the consequences of the lack of transparency surrounding the split discussions in 2025.
“I feel both the board and the district have worked hard to rebuild trust,” Kelly said. “By communicating earlier, by over communicating when necessary and bringing the community into conversations before decisions are finalized and now because of that, many community members now see the removal of Shady Grove from the proposal as a step backward in the transparency department.”
She said it’s important for the district to explain the decision to families during the board meeting.
“Transparency doesn't just mean sharing decisions, it means helping people understand how those decisions were made,” Kelly said. “ I also think it’s important to recognize that the district chose to communicate this proposed change before the board meeting even though they didn’t have to.
“Had the community not known ahead of time, we likely would have only heard from families upset about Shady Grove remaining on the proposal and not from those who now have concerns about being it being removed.”
The district said the reworked plan addresses the decline in enrollment, campus utilization and operational funding for students and staff.
The Long Range Committee met six times over three months and included 70 residents and 59 teachers and staffs from the district’s feeder patterns.
The school board meeting is scheduled to take place from, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m on May 14 at the Education Center, 350 Keller Parkway.