Fort Worth ISD must close campuses. Here’s how to do middle schools right | Opinion
Fort Worth ISD is facing a critical decision point. Across the district, enrollment has dropped from 87,000 a decade ago to just over 70,000 today, and projections show it dipping below 65,000 in the coming years. Yet the district still operates facilities built to serve 95,000 students.
Maintaining underutilized campuses drains resources, stretches staffing thin, and limits what schools can offer. Right-sizing ensures all students have access to strong academics, comprehensive support, and enriching experiences.
As the presidents of the George C. Clarke Elementary PTO and the Lily B. Clayton Elementary PTA, we represent two school communities that care deeply about FWISD’s future. We’ve spent months engaging with data and community perspectives. While school closures are difficult and emotionally charged, we believe that right-sizing and consolidation are essential steps toward greater opportunity and improved outcomes across the district.
Our school communities want a strategic, sustainable plan that provides consistent, high-quality education for all students. In the Paschal High pyramid, we support the consolidation of Daggett and McLean middle schools into a single, unified campus that expands access, makes responsible use of limited resources, and creates a more cohesive and inclusive middle school experience.
The disparities between the two schools are clear. McLean’s larger student population enables it to offer a far broader range of electives and extracurriculars than what’s available at Daggett. Even though the district spends significantly more per student at Daggett, its small, landlocked campus limits both capacity and the ability to diversify programming.
Students at smaller campuses miss out — not due to lack of effort, but because the structure itself limits what’s possible. A consolidated campus can offer robust programming, consistent academic and behavioral support, and a richer array of extracurricular options. Larger campuses allow for more efficient staffing and better distribution of students across sections, often resulting in smaller, not larger, class sizes.
Other proposals include rezoning George C. Clarke or Lily B. Clayton to feed into Daggett Middle in an effort to boost enrollment. Even with those changes, Daggett would remain too small to offer the full range of programs available at McLean. A single, fully resourced middle school is the only proposal that addresses the programming gap.
Recent commentary on this issue has questioned the motivations of those supporting consolidation, suggesting bias or a desire to preserve an inequitable status quo. These are unfair characterizations that overlook the thoughtful, student-focused reasoning behind this position. There are valid concerns about how past district policies contributed to Daggett’s academic challenges. Today, it has the highest transfer-out rate of any middle school in FWISD; 33% of its in-zone students choose to attend other district schools. While historical inequities must be acknowledged, the current reality is that Daggett has long struggled to retain students, and FWISD can no longer afford to maintain underutilized campuses at the expense of students’ educational experiences.
Preserving a too-small campus at the cost of student success is a short-term compromise that hinders long-term progress. A unified middle school would better serve students and create a stronger school community where kids from across the pyramid can learn with the full complement of resources and opportunities. It also ensures that when students arrive at Paschal, they do so with a more consistent academic foundation and equal access to programs.
The case for right-sizing extends beyond one school or one pyramid. Maintaining too-small and half-empty schools stretches budgets and staffing thin, making it difficult to offer robust course options, attract and retain specialized teachers, and provide necessary support services. FWISD struggles to fill key positions. Consolidation would allow the district to staff schools more effectively and provide every student access to strong instruction and full programming.
We call on district leaders and the broader community to embrace bold, student-centered decisions that prioritize long-term stability and success. FWISD’s facilities plan must be more than a temporary fix. It should be a proactive step toward a stronger, more sustainable district.
As parents and leaders in our school communities, we want schools that challenge, support, and inspire our kids and that invest in a future where every Fort Worth student has access to opportunity — not just a seat in a building.
