DALLAS — Neighbors know many school buildings across the city of Dallas need to be modernized.
It's something administrators with Dallas Independent School District wants to focus on as they consider the future of the district and its facilities.
Superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa released a video to teachers, staff and parents on Thursday about Envision, a Dallas ISD strategic facilities plan. In it, Hinojosa details the rationale behind a long-range master plan the Board of Trustees has been discussing since the study was released during a recent workshop.
The 15-month study revealed a lot of data about Dallas ISD’s facilities. It showed of the 221 buildings in the school district, 99 of them are more than 60 years old.
"Part of that discussion at a board workshop was, eventually, we would have to look at some buildings that have out-used the use for life," Hinojosa said.
The contractors who designed the study toured every campus and made some recommendations. The study suggests demolishing 47 buildings. It also proposes constructing 25 new schools. That’s a total reduction of 22 facilities over a 10-year time frame.
Hinojosa described the recommendations as scenarios that were designed to give trustees a snapshot or framework of potential options. None of the suggestions are set in stone, he said.
"We don’t even know if we have the resources to make it possible," Hinojosa said. "If we decide to shut down small schools and build larger schools—none of that is eminent. We just laid this out to the board, gave them a workshop said you guys think about it, we’ll come back, have several more meetings, get input from you.”
The long-range facilities master plan does have a lot of people talking. Administrators say putting any modernization plans into place could still take a few years.
"At some point, we’ll have to make some decisions,” Hinojosa said. “But we have very specific policies about school closures that require community input and board meetings and votes. And none of those are anywhere scheduled for the next three to four years.”
To view Dr. Hinojosa’s message about Dallas ISD Long-Range Facilities Master Plan, click here, or watch below.