CFB ISD board approves plan to consolidate four campuses and redraw attendance zones, 6-1

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Board of Trustees voted 6-1 to approve a recommendation to consolidate Central Elementary, Forno Elementary, McCoy Elementary and Long Middle School and to adopt corresponding attendance-zone changes.

The vote came after more than two hours of public comment by parents, students and community members and a district presentation that said consolidation would reduce unused capacity and help address a multiyear funding shortfall. Board President Randy Shachman announced the tally as "six in favor and one opposed." The motion was seconded and carried.

The district presented the consolidation as a fiscal and operational move. Chris Moore, a district presenter, said the plan would reduce roughly 2,300 empty seats and, if implemented with fidelity, could realize an estimated $9 million in first-year savings and about $17 million in annual operating costs tied to the four campuses. The proposal also relies on demographic projections the district provided showing ongoing enrollment decline since 2018–19 and an expected drop of roughly 1,100 students over the next 10 years.

Why it matters: The board said the change is intended to preserve program quality across the district and to stabilize finances amid flat or declining state funding and rising local costs. Representative Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, who addressed the board during public comment, framed the issue as part of a larger state funding problem: "This isn't a district mismanagement issue. It's the failure of the Texas leadership to fulfill their duty under Article 7 of our Texas Constitution to sufficiently fund our neighborhood schools," she said.

What the plan does: The approved motion (as presented by the administration) will -…