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Parents who crowded in to a standing-room-only Grapevine-Colleyville school board meeting lost their fight to keep Bransford and Dove elementary schools open as trustees voted 5-2 late Wednesday night to close the campuses and consolidate them with existing schools.
Trustees voted separately on motions to close Dove and Bransford, with the vote to shutter Bransford coming just before midnight.
“I hate that we’re here tonight,” board President Shannon Braun said. “Not one of us ran for the school board because we want to make painful decisions like this. We were elected to lead. We were elected to make hard choices. The truth is that there is no viable alternative.”
Trustees Dalia Begin and Matt Foust voted against the motions to close the two schools, and said they were concerned about a lack of transparency from the Educational Master Planning Committee that recommended the closures.
The elementary schools will close at the end of this school year.
Bransford will be consolidated with Colleyville Elementary and O.C. Taylor,. A portion of Colleyville Elementary will be rezoned with O.C Taylor, and a portion of Taylor will be rezoned with Heritage Elementary.
Dove will consolidate with Cannon and Silver Lake elementaries.
Many of the 75 parents, students and teachers who signed up to speak asked the district to pause the closings to allow more time to look at alternatives and raise money to help stave off a budget shortfall. The public comment began at 8 p.m.
Allen Corbin, whose daughter attends Bransford, asked trustees to hold off on making a decision.
“Delaying the vote is vital to keep the public trust,” he said.
Shelby Brownfield, who teaches at Bransford, said the school is her home. She described the importance of the school’s fine arts program and a specially-equipped room for “medically fragile” students.
“All I ask is for this process to be rejected so that I can go back and do my job,” she said.
Lincoln Huck, a student in Bransford’s fine arts program, said his goal is to be on Broadway because of his teachers and what he is learning.
”If this school closes, it will take away kids’ voices. Don’t take away what makes us feel seen and safe,” he said.
But Jeff Hall of Grapevine praised the work of the Educational Master Planning Committee, which recommended consolidating the schools.
Hall said he trusted the board to make the right decision.
“Be strong leaders. Do what you think is right” he said.
Braun told the Star-Telegram previously that pausing the vote to close Dove and Bransford elementaries wasn’t an option because of Grapevine-Colleyville’s “dire” financial picture brought on by declining enrollment, inflation and a lack of full funding from the state.
According to the school district, if Bransford and Dove elementaries don’t close, the projected budget shortfall is right under $3.2 million. The district expects to save $2.7 million by closing the schools.
Trustees discussed their concerns before the vote.
Dalia Begin urged the board to look at other options before making a decision that will affect parents, students and teachers.
She said she understands the district’s difficult financial position but added that she did not think all options were explored thoroughly.
“My vote is a procedural concern and not a financial one,” she said.
She questioned why Grapevine-Colleyville had to follow other districts that closed schools.
“Leadership is not about following trends, it’s about understanding your community. What makes it unique. A GCISD solution has to be our own,” she said.
For instance, she said there are over 3,500 children who live in the Grapevine-Colleyville boundaries who don’t attend school in the district. “We can bring them back,” she said.
But Mary Humphrey said she is concerned about the taxpayers and the district’s financial well-being.
“I’ve had people tell me to close schools,” she said. “It’s an irresponsible use of tax dollars.”
She said if the district didn’t close schools, it would lead to staff cuts and the district dipping in to its fund balance.
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Elizabeth Campbell
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