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The Arlington ISD Board of Trustees began conversations about closing the East Arlington Blanton Elementary School on Jan. 8, 2026. The school board, shown in this screenshot of the meeting livestream, must make a decision by Jan. 31, 2026, per Texas Education Agency guidelines.
Courtesy of Arlington ISD
The Arlington school board voted Feb. 19 to approve changes to the district’s enrollment boundaries that will determine where the students at a beloved elementary school that will be closing in May will be sent to.
In January, the board voted to close Blanton Elementary School, a primarily Hispanic school in north Arlington that has received failing grades from TEA since 2023 and faces costly repairs to aging infrastructure.
When Blanton closes at the end of the school year, students will be sent to four other Arlington ISD elementary schools in the same general area.
On Thursday, the board reviewed a presentation from Arlington ISD Chief Operations Officer Michael Hill, who updated them on the timeline of the closure so far.
The district held meetings with Blanton parents on Feb. 10, Hill said, where some parents voiced concerns about adequate transportation to the new schools, assistance with transferring and enrolling, and keeping students and teachers who are in Blanton’s special education programs together.
“That is a major concern of mine,” said board member Larry Mike. “We took an active step to close this school down, and we have parents who have lived in that area particularly for that school…all of this, as long as we take care of the students and the staff, is fine with me.”
The board members were generally on board with the boundaries and overall plan presented, but had questions about the timeline and how parent concerns would be addressed.
“I truly believe, from what we know…this is the best case scenario,” said board member Sarah McMurrough.
Arlington ISD Superintendent Matt Smith said that before the transition, students and their families will be able to tour the schools.
An event will be held at Blanton where parents and staff from each of the four schools will speak to Blanton parents.
Board president Justin Chapa also reiterated at the meeting that Blanton staff and faculty will be given offers to move to other schools.
Richardson made a motion to approve the change, which was unanimously approved.
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Emily Holshouser
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