Ninety-six years of history, put to rest in six board meetings, with the last meeting being under four hours long.
On Sept. 30, Coppell’s oldest and only operating International Baccalaureate elementary school, Pinkerton Elementary School, was voted by the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees to close. The school will consolidate into undecided remaining elementary school campuses within the district.
On Oct. 23, a resolution was approved to move the IB program to Wilson Elementary School and the Dual Language Immersion program to Denton Creek Elementary School after Pinkerton closes next school year.
The consolidation of Pinkerton is projected to save CISD $2.1 million of the projected $13.4 million budget deficit from the 2023-24 academic school year.
”It is so much more than numbers on a sheet,” Pinkerton Elementary parent Julia Valero said. “We chose Pinkerton because we wanted our kids to put their best foot forward, and it feels like that has been taken away by premature choices that have come as an afterthought, a last ditch effort.”
Established in 1928, Pinkerton evolved into a “choice” school, permitting all CISD students to enroll into the IB Primary Years Programme, an inquiry-based learning environment.
Additionally, 8% of its student population is enrolled in the Dual Language Immersion program for bilingual learning.
With the school’s unique programs, many Pinkerton families are left shocked at its consolidation.
“I just do not understand why or how this is the only viable option,” Pinkerton parent Sadie Bauer said. “If we look at this budget crisis as a whole, is shutting down one elementary school that holds so much value and tradition going to save us from what is happening at the state level when it comes to funding? What will happen to the programs some families came here specifically for?”
Since 2020, CISD has seen a decline in student enrollment at the elementary level which has compounded the district’s existing budgeting issues.
”Realistically, we cannot keep every school open and smoothly maintain operations as it is without digging into our other running expenses,” CISD Board of Trustees President David Caviness said. “To close an elementary school like Pinkerton was not something we would have liked to see happen, but it is instead a way of minimizing potential layoffs or program cuts.”
On Sept. 30, a protest held by Pinkerton and surrounding elementary parents, faculty and students rallied to keep the school open, and lined outside the Vonita White Administration Building on Denton Tap Road. Members of Facebook group “Keep ALL Coppell Schools Open” live-streamed the demonstration, further garnering support from the community.
“Basically all the memories that flood my head when I think about my time at Pinkerton are positive and I hate to see it close just because of money problems,” said Coppell High School junior Saddarth Morisetty, who attended Pinkerton. “I liked my teachers, I did not find myself dreading going to class every day like at my previous school and most of all I felt like I was getting something out of my education doing IB.”
Serving more than 13,100 learners across Coppell and four surrounding communities, the quality of education at CISD schools has been a longtime pull for new families to move into the area.
“I do not think this will stop Coppell from being a destination district,” Caviness said. “For years, our schools and choice programs have excelled in what they do and this closure should not come as an end all be all for the district going forward despite our current financial situation.”
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