Fort Worth ISD mother Maryela Contreras and her husband have seriously contemplated where they want their three children to attend school.
The conversation is difficult, but necessary, she said.
Contreras’ children attend Hubbard Heights Elementary, the only campus recommended for closure within the South Hills High School feeder pattern and 17 planned shutters. The Contrerases don’t understand why district leaders picked their school, even after sitting through a community meeting May 7.
They want to be prepared ahead of the school’s proposed closure in 2029, Contreras said.
“My oldest daughter is sad about it,” Contreras said. “My youngest asked, ‘What am I going to do?’ She said she wants to be homeschooled if the school closes.”
Hubbard Heights is 103 years old. Before too long, the building will require costly upgrades, Deputy Superintendent Kellie Spencer told around 20 people sitting inside South Hills High’s auditorium.
Spencer listed a roof replacement and new air conditioning systems as just two of the expensive, big ticket items Hubbard Heights will need for it to remain open.
On the enrollment side, the school is about 77% full, according to the district.
Contreras saw that stat in a slideshow Spencer presented. She understood that the building’s age is a major factor. In fact, she attended the school as a child in the 1990s.
Still, the data raised more questions for her.
“It doesn’t really make sense because our enrollment is not that low. I see there are lower enrollments in other schools, and they’re not considering them to close,” she said.
The goal of closing schools like Hubbard Heights Elementary is to improve efficiency, align enrollment to building capacity and redistribute dollars toward students’ academic achievement as the district’s enrollment declines, Spencer said.
Should Hubbard Heights close, students would attend Seminary Hills Park, Richard J. Wilson or Worth Heights elementaries, depending on where their families live.
Contreras inspected the proposed attendance boundaries. She determined her children would attend Seminary Hills Park Elementary in 2030.
Seminary Hills Park Elementary is not an ideal school for Contreras, she said.
“I don’t really like it because of the area. There’s an apartment complex nearby,” Contreras said, expressing concern for her children’s safety. “If it’s zoned that way, I won’t be sending my kids that way.”
Spencer emphasized the closure is still five years away — and trustees have not approved it. The school board meets May 13 for a workshop and May 20 for a regular board meeting.
On top of that, the district has not formed plans for Hubbard Heights’ future use. Historic Fort Worth, a local preservation group, would like to see the campus designated as a historic building to ensure it is not demolished.
“A lot of things can happen in four years,” Spencer said. “It certainly would be our hope that enrollment increases and we have the opportunity to reevaluate and take a look at it then to ensure we’re making the right decision.”
Likewise, Contreras acknowledged the 2029-30 school year is far out. But she has to think that far ahead for her fourth and second graders and kindergartener.
“If Hubbard Heights closes, we might end up just going to private school for them,” she said.
Contreras already started her research for financial assistance. She plans to tap into the state’s newly created education savings account program to support her children’s education.
Jacob Sanchez is a senior education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez. 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.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
