Fort Worth ISD to consider ‘rightsizing' amid enrollment decline

A serious conversation is set for Tuesday night to address the growing problem of declining enrollment in the Fort Worth Independent School District.

The Fort Worth ISD Board of Trustees will discuss how best to handle the fact that the district’s student population has dropped from 87,233 as recently as 2016 to 72,783 students this school year. That drop in enrollment has happened while Fort Worth’s population has risen from 855,947 to 963,868 people, making the city one of the fastest-growing big cities in the country.

Two reasons that the district has listed to explain the decline in enrollment – a lack of affordable housing for young families, and the rise in the number of charter schools that have lured students away from the Fort Worth ISD.

The Board of Trustees will consider approving a $2 million study Tuesday night to consider school building capacity, and the possibility of “rightsizing” the district’s resources, including buildings, staffing, and programs.

Rightsizing could involve closing some Fort Worth ISD buildings, considering that the current capacity is designed for enrollment up to 90,000 students, but enrollment this year is just over 70,000.