Texas state Rep., and Democratic candidate for governor, Gina Hinojosa addresses a campaign rally in Plano, Monday, June 1, 2026.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Sitting in front of Hilarie Benedetto was a thick binder, pages sticking out, notes scribbled in the margins — it stuck out, especially in a room where everyone else had small notepads or coffee cups.
Inside were the agendas for every single Grapevine-Colleyville ISD board of trustees meeting since 2021. In the last five years, she has only missed three or four meetings total.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, discusses school closures and budget deficits with Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District parents at the Courtyard Dallas DFW Airport North on Tuesday, June 9, 2926.
Maryam Ahmed/The Dallas Morning News
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, discusses school closures and budget deficits with Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District parents at the Courtyard Dallas DFW Airport North on Tuesday, June 9, 2926.
Maryam Ahmed/The Dallas Morning News
“I try to advocate for the teachers and give teachers a voice,” she said. “We just want what is best for our kids’ schools, that’s it.”
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Benedetto was one of six GCISD parents and community members who attended a roundtable with state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, in Grapevine on Tuesday. The roundtable was part of Hinojosa’s new Team Texas Public School program, which trains parents, teachers and administrators to be “local coaches” who fight against school closures.
Related: Closure of Fort Worth ISD newcomer school stirs uncertainty, resurrects a decades-old debate
At the roundtable, Benedetto and other parents lamented the recent closure of two schools in the district, Bransford and Dove elementaries. Several other North Texas school districts have announced school closures in recent months, including Frisco, Plano and Keller ISDs.
GCISD voted 5-2 to close the schools in December, citing declining enrollment and strained budgets. One school official said at the time that the closures would save the district $2.7 million.
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Hinojosa, who is challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November’s elections, pointed to insufficient state funding for public schools as a large driver of school closure. Abbott signed a law adding $8.5 billion for public education in 2025, but some district officials say that is not enough to keep up with inflation. While the 2025 increase added $55 per student in funding, experts have said districts would need an increase of more than $1,300 per student.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, discusses school closures and budget deficits with Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District parents at the Courtyard Dallas DFW Airport North on Tuesday, June 9, 2926.
Maryam Ahmed/The Dallas Morning News
“Our public schools are on life support right now,” she said.
Hinojosa served on the Austin ISD school board, including as president, until 2015, when she resigned to run for the Texas House. She is currently running against Abbott for the governorship in November’s midterm elections.
“School closures are driven by enrollment and demographic trends, not a lack of state funding,” said Eduardo Leal, press secretary for Abbott’s re-election campaign. “Governor Abbott has been clear: school districts must prioritize teachers and students over administrative bloat and wasteful spending.
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Related: If North Texas population is increasing, why are schools closing? Curious Texas explains
Ashleigh Johnson, who spoke at the roundtable, has two kids who attended Bransford Elementary School, and is now struggling to navigate the school’s closure. After being rezoned for a campus over four miles away, her application to transfer her kids to a closer campus has been denied three times. Johnson said she chose her home specifically for Bransford Elementary, but now her family might leave the district entirely.
“I feel trapped in my own district,” she said.
According to the district’s website, GCISD had five elementary schools operating below 75% capacity in the 2024-25 school year. When the board voted to close the two campuses in December, board president Shannon Braun said the decision was “painful” but the board had to ensure the “long-term health and excellence of [its] schools.”
In addition to the Grapevine roundtable, Hinojosa held similar meetings in McKinney and Richardson, with planned stops in Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas as she debuted her education platform this week. Hinojosa promised she would fire TEA Commissioner Mike Morath if elected, replacing him with an educator instead. TEA did not respond to a request for comment.
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She also called the Texas Education Agency’s A-F accountability system “rigged.” Each district and school receives a grade from A-F, largely fueled by scores from the statewide standardized test, STAAR. If a school receives consistent failing grades, the state can take over the district, installing its own leadership. Fort Worth and Lake Worth ISDs have both come under state control, and Austin ISD is currently at risk of a takeover.
Related: Texas school takeover tracker: Who’s under TEA control and who’s at risk
At a Wednesday news conference in Dallas, Hinojosa instead advocated for a test that uses an “apples to apples” approach by measuring Texas students’ performance against students in other states.
“Schools are shutting down all over this state because of funding, but also because this rigged system sets up our school districts to be taken over,” she said.
Hinojosa also blasted the school voucher-like Texas Education Freedom Accounts program as further siphoning money from public schools. In its first year, the program has approved over 100,000 students to use state funds to pay for private school or homeschooling. Most students are eligible to receive $10,474, but students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000 and homeschooled students can receive up to $2,000
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The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.