by Matthew Sgroi, Fort Worth Report
May 7, 2025
Five years ago, Keller ISD prepared for a wave of new students.
The district passed a $315 million bond to renovate or rebuild a slate of aging schools. Demographers projected the district would add nearly 2,000 students by 2028. And plans were already in motion to modernize campuses like Whitley Road and Parkview elementaries.
Now, interim Superintendent Cory Wilson is outlining a different future — one where fewer students, underenrolled campuses and rising costs may force the district to close schools. Already, the district plans to close its two stand-alone pre-K campuses at the end of this school year, a spokesperson confirmed to the Fort Worth Report.
“As of this morning, we had about 31,700 students enrolled,” Wilson told community members and trustees at a March 31 board meeting. “That’s a little over 3,400 fewer students than our peak in 2020. That many fewer students has led to underutilization of campuses across the district.”
Keller ISD will begin evaluating closure options this year, Wilson said. Officials plan to complete a districtwide facilities audit by summer and start discussions with families in the fall. The outcome could include recommendations to close one or more schools, he said.
“Unfortunately, the result of this analysis may lead to a recommendation to close one or more campuses in the district,” Wilson said. “We’re going to have to look at how many campuses we actually need.”
The discussion of campus closures came up just two weeks after school board members proposed a plan to split the district in two, citing financial strain and governance disagreements. Though trustees ultimately dropped the idea following community backlash and further financial analysis, the episode deepened divisions across the district — without resolving concerns about Keller ISD’s long-term financial stability amid uncertain state funding.
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A reversal from earlier projections
The shift is stark given what Keller ISD officials were told in 2019. That fall, demographers Zonda Education forecasted steady growth across the district, with enrollment expected to climb from about 35,100 students to nearly 37,000 by 2028.
District leaders built their bond proposal based on those projections. The $315 million package included full replacements of Whitley Road, Parkview, Florence and Heritage elementary schools — all of which had below-average ratings for building condition or educational adequacy at the time.
What do building conditions and educational adequacy mean?
Facility condition index:
A score that reflects the cost of needed repairs compared to the cost of replacing the building. A higher score means more costly repairs are needed and the worse shape the building is in.
Educational adequacy:
A score that measures how well a school’s facilities support teaching and learning. It considers factors like classroom size, layout, technology, specialized spaces (like science labs or gyms) and overall learning environment. Keller ISD rated this metric on a 1-4 scale during its last assessment.
Additions and renovations followed at Fossil Hill and Keller middle schools.
Five years later, enrollment sits below 32,000 students and some of those campuses are struggling to fill their classrooms.
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While enrollment at Heritage Elementary has grown since its renovation, Whitley Road Elementary now enrolls 374 students, down from a pre-renovation peak of 438. Enrollment at Keller Middle School fell by nearly 100 students since 2020.
How does Keller ISD’s enrollment trend compare?
While Keller ISD is seeing fewer students, some neighboring school districts are still growing:
Northwest ISD has added more than 2,000 students over the past five years, driven by rapid housing development in areas like Haslet, Justin and north Fort Worth.
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD continues to grow steadily, particularly in the southern part of the district near the Fort Worth city line.
Fort Worth ISD, meanwhile, has also seen a multiyear decline in enrollment — losing more than 10,000 students over the last decade, according to state data and district reports.
Data-driven, but not data-bound
Keller ISD has not finalized what criteria it will use to determine whether to close a school, a district spokesperson told the Fort Worth Report. The enrollment-to-capacity percentage of individual campuses will not necessarily be a factor, the district said.
Instead, administrators will consider programming needs, facility age and condition, enrollment projections, future development in the area and the impact to surrounding campuses and feeder schools, the district said.
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For example: Vista Ridge Middle School is currently 63.2% full, but has the highest educational adequacy score in the district — a 3.99 out of 4. Park Glen Elementary is more full, but scored a 2.13 for educational adequacy.
Studies were last conducted in 2019. The district’s upcoming audit is expected to give updated assessments of each building’s condition and long-term viability. From there, officials said, they’ll begin community engagement in earnest.
“We fully intend to engage with the community and provide numerous opportunities for input and conversation before we make any moves,” Wilson said in March.
Budget pressures build
At the same time, Keller ISD will prepare a potential new bond proposal, Wilson said.
District leaders will begin drafting a plan over the coming months, once the results of an updated mechanical, electrical and plumbing study arrive.
A new bond could help fund infrastructure needs across Keller ISD, but any proposal, Wilson said, will be shaped by the findings of the facilities audit and the outcome of the consolidation process.
The potential bond isn’t the only factor driving this discussion.
The district is preparing a 2025-26 budget that includes a raise for teachers and a maintained fund balance. Closing underused campuses, Wilson said, could help reduce operating costs and free up money for day-to-day expenses.
Fewer students also mean fewer state dollars. Because Texas funds school districts based largely on average daily attendance, Keller ISD’s enrollment drop translates to thousands less in state revenue each year.
To help close that gap, the district plans to shut down its Early Learning Center North and Early Learning Center South at the end of this school year. By moving those early childhood programs into underused space on elementary campuses, Keller ISD expects to save $1.1 million in next year’s budget.
“We need to align our facilities with our enrollment,” he said. “The underutilization of facilities is inefficient, and it does lead to increased operating costs.”
Planning for a future bond and potential campus consolidation will happen in lockstep, the district told the Report.
Any facilities investment should ultimately reflect actual student needs, the district said.
Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @matthewsgroi1.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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