Laura Isensee
The Aldine ISD school board voted Tuesday evening to close six more schools — for a total of nine in the past year — as the district grapples with a budget deficit and a decline in its student population.
The north Houston school district voted to close six campuses: Smith Elementary, Eckert Elementary, De Santiago EC/PK/K School, Raymond Elementary, Oleson Elementary and Stovall EC/PK/K School. Board member Viola M. Garcia was the only no vote on all six motions to close the schools. According to the district, affected staff and students will be transferred to other campuses for the next school year.
The board received little pushback on the closures during the meeting with only one parent submitting a written comment in opposition.
Carolina Perez, the parent of a Raymond Elementary student, wrote in her comment that Raymond and its staff have had a positive impact on her three children.
“It would be an honor if my youngest daughter could continue her education and graduate from Raymond like her two sisters did,” Perez wrote in a statement that was read aloud to the board. “I love all of Raymond’s staff. They have made Raymond such a welcoming place for my daughters. … Please vote no to the closing of Raymond and the six other Aldine ISD schools.”
As the board worked through the six motions to close each campus several members spoke about the difficulty of the decision.
“I would even suggest that everyone on this board has some type of personal relationship with, not just the schools themselves, but also the students from those various schools,” board member Randy Bates Jr. said. “But, that doesn’t stop us from having the responsibility to be stewards of taxpayer monies that are given to us.”
According to the district, the closure of the six campuses is expected to save Aldine ISD approximately $25 million as the district has had to run a deficit budget for the past two years.
Aldine is currently one of many public school districts in Texas to be faced with a funding shortfall as the state legislature has not increased the per-student allotment since 2019. Efforts during the last legislative session were unsuccessful as Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to veto any legislation to increase public school funding that did not also fund a school voucher-like program.
“We still have to balance [the] budget and if you’re watching the news, you know what’s going on in our state, in our nation,” board member Paul Shanklin said. “We’re not getting extra money. We have to do something. … We have a fiduciary responsibility to you.”
Another pressing budgetary constraint for Aldine ISD is its substantial decline in students. Over the past 10 years, the district has lost over 10,000 students, or approximately 17% of its population, according to the Houston Landing.
In a statement to Houston Public Media, the district said the decision was made following detailed discussions ahead of the next school year.
“We strive to make the best use of our resources to maximize our facilities, employees and resources to best meet the needs of our students,” the district said. It is a best practice to make determinations for the next school year before March of the current school year. Aldine ISD will work to ensure our student and staff impacted by the school closures will have the support they need as they transition to their new campuses for the 2025-2026 school year.”