Blanton Elementary will close at the end of the school year and a majority of the campus demolished, trustees unanimously decided Tuesday night.
The 69-year-old building needs major repairs while the school saw declining enrollment and failing academic performance in recent years, officials said.
Board President Justin Chapa said closing the school was one of the most difficult decisions in his time on the board.
“We have closed campuses before but not like this,” Chapa said. “We’ve done consolidations of schools into bright, new, shiny, state-of-the-art buildings. That’s how we have done it in the past. To do it without that waiting on the other side for these students is just not a position that I want to be in.”
Student Josue Ramos was among 10 from the community who attended the school board meeting urging trustees not to close Blanton. He said he wasn’t sure that he would feel as safe or secure at a different school.
“Leaving the school makes me feel scared and upset and heartbroken,” Ramos told trustees as he stood next to his mother.
The central Arlington school was first put on the chopping block after a third-party facilities assessment revealed in December that more than 50% of the campus required repairs to meet district standards, officials said.
Kelly Horn, assistant superintendent of facility services, said the Arlington ISD schools are usually built for a 50-year life cycle.
Blanton’s location contributes to it bringing a “tremendous amount of water” during storms, leading to structural and interior damage, he said. Constructing storm shelters, cafeteria expansions and other costly needed repairs make rebuilds at the campus difficult, Horn added.
Repairs to bring Blanton up to the district’s standards would cost an estimated $35 million, Horn said. Over the past 20 years, the district has spent about $20 million in maintenance and repairs at the campus, he added.
“It just doesn’t make sense to continue” spending money on Blanton, Horn told the trustees and audience.
While the campus infrastructure began to deteriorate, academics and enrollment fell into a steady decline, officials said.
Blanton has received an F rating on Texas academic accountability standards for three years. A public campus failing five consecutive years triggers a state-intervention law, such as the takeovers underway in Fort Worth and Lake Worth schools.
Trustees first discussed potentially closing the school during a Jan. 8 meeting. The next week, district officials met with parents and families to discuss what shuttering Blanton would mean.
Parents raised concerns about transportation, specialized programs and how Blanton got to the point of a closure during that Jan. 14 community meeting.
Those worries were echoed by families in attendance Tuesday night.
Parent Maria Zamarippa said she was worried about transportation for her daughter, who is in special education and now walks with her mother to Blanton.
Under rezoning, her home likely will be 2 miles away from her daughter’s new school, Zamarippa said. Transportation is provided to students who are at least 2 miles away from the school they are zoned to, according to district policy.
“I am terrified thinking that maybe my daughter will not adapt to the bus with kids she doesn’t know,” Zamarippa told trustees.
Others questioned why Blanton could not be rebuilt.
Parent Mariela Torres asked the board what students or teachers at Blanton could do to warrant a rebuild like Thornton Elementary received under the 2019 bond package, or whether the campus could receive one more year to turn academics around.
“I feel like we need that opportunity,” Torres said.
Now most of Blanton will be demolished. An addition to the campus built under a 2013 bond package will be used in the future, Smith previously said.
Trustees will decide in February which campuses Blanton students will attend next school year.
Draft boundaries show students moving to either Goodman, Swift, Burgin elementaries or Crow Leadership Academy.
Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
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Great Job Chris Moss & the Team @ Fort Worth Report for sharing this story.
