Grand Prairie ISD parents expressed concerns Monday evening about a controversial plan by district administrators to close three schools even as school officials defended the proposal and sought to reassure the nervous parents.
As the district grapples with ongoing enrollment declines, school board trustees are considering a plan to shutter Delmas F. Morton Elementary, Travis World Language Academy and Dickinson Montessori Academy at the end of this school year.
Board members first heard the proposal during their December meeting.
During the January meeting, they discussed the plan but postponed a vote on the matter. Before moving forward, district officials said they wanted to hold listening sessions with parents to field questions and provide information to families.
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People attend a community meeting about school closures at Dickinson Montessori Academy, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Grand Prairie.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
“We realize that there is an impact to every decision you make,” said Thurston Lamb, deputy superintendent of operations. “In order for us to be able to serve… we have to make some tough decisions.”
With their children seated next to them, parents huddled Monday evening in the cafeteria of Dickinson Montessori Academy. School officials gathered and answered the questions scribbled on index cards. Two board members sat near the front of the room to listen.
Parents worried that the plan would disrupt the school routine their children had grown accustomed to. They asked: How would the move affect students with special needs? Would there be a playground at the new school? What was the new system for dropping up students?
If the plan is adopted, Dickinson Montessori Academy’s students and staff will attend the Truman Digital Learning Institute, a middle school that will be reconfigured to serve Pre-K through eighth grade. Truman Digital Learning Institute focuses on esports, coding, and artificial intelligence.
The Dickinson campus is operating at 73% capacity, while the Truman campus is at 52% capacity, according to the district website. If the two schools combine, the capacity will shoot up to 98%, said Lamb during the meeting.
The two other campuses — Morton Elementary and Travis World Language Academy — will route students to other schools in the district.
Dickinson Montessori Academy is seen, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Grand Prairie.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
School officials say that the closures are necessary to respond to a drop in enrollment. Grand Prairie ISD has seen its enrollment decline from about 29,300 students in 2015 to 25,600 students in 2025.
Less students means less money from the state. Last year, the state Legislature upped the base amount of money districts receive per student by $55, but experts say the boost would need to be about $1,300 to catch up with inflation.
The district faced a $17.6 million budget deficit this year. Closing Dickinson Montessori Academy would save the district $1.1 million, Lamb said.
Tajuana Johnson said she was drawn to the school for its Montessori curriculum, because she believes the child-centered, individualized approach to learning was well-suited for her son. She is trying to figure out next steps.
“It feels like a decision has already been made,” she said.
Brandi Fetherlin, whose 6-year-old daughter attends Dickinson Montessori Academy, is “concerned about the change.” The staff here feel “like family,” she said.
Fetherlin worries about sending her daughter to Truman Digital Learning Institute, which would serve pre-K through eighth grades, under the proposal. The district did not outline a detailed plan for separating younger students from the older ones, she said.
“I really want my child to just enjoy being an elementary student,” she said.
School districts across North Texas are facing a dilemma similar to Grand Prairie ISD. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD trustees decided to shutter two elementary schools in December, while Southlake Carroll ISD trustees voted to close an intermediate school serving fifth- and sixth-grade students in January.
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For Fetherlin, the growing list of school closures feels overwhelming yet “inevitable,” she said.
“You see it on the news every day,” Fetherlin said. “I feel sad.”
The district will hold two additional listening sessions: 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Morton Elementary, located at 401 E. Grand Prairie Rd.; and 6 p.m. on Thursday at Travis World Language Academy, located at 525 N.E. 15th St.
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