Sign Petition

For LISD Board

Oppose the Closure of Steiner Ranch Schools — Or Any Existing LISD Schools

An Open Message to the LISD Board and Administration
Leander ISD is moving forward with proposals that include closing successful, high-performing schools in established communities like Steiner Ranch — even as the district continues to build new schools elsewhere.

We are calling on the LISD Board to reject this misguided path and instead pursue real, community-driven solutions that protect neighborhood schools, respect taxpayers, and prioritize students.

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We Oppose All Three Paths Currently Proposed by LISD

Each “Path” includes closures, consolidations, and resource reallocation away from the south — even though the district’s own demographic reports show slowing or possibly declining enrollment across much of LISD.

What’s worse: LISD is actively building new schools while trying to close others — and calling it a “savings.” But that math doesn’t add up.

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Building New Schools Should Not Come at the Expense of Ours

You cannot justify building brand-new campuses while simultaneously claiming our existing schools are too expensive to operate. This is not strategic growth — it’s a redistribution of resources, with Steiner Ranch and other communities footing the bill.

  • In reality
  • The so-called “savings” from school closures are not actual reductions in cost — they are the result of shifting admin and staff north to support new schools.
  • These are not new students — they’re just new buildings. We’re simply reassigning people and expenses, not reducing them.
  • Our neighborhood loses its school community — while other areas gain new facilities funded by our M&O dollars.

This is not fiscal responsibility. It’s political theater. And our students deserve better.

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Timeline of Concern: How We Got Here

  • Jan 2022 – Long Range Planning Committee was created in response to the bond not passing in 2021. Committee consisted of Board members and administration.
  • November 2022 – Long Range Planning Committee reconvenes and presents a plan that will close an elementary school in Steiner Ranch in the 25/26 school year and a southern middle school in the 28/29 school year.
  • January 2023 – CFAC recommends turf and modernization design for CRMS during bond presentation
  • February 2023 – CFAC and Long Range Update once again says Steiner Ranch schools for repurposing and under utilization in the future.
  • March 2023 – LISD unveils its Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) framework, with an emphasis on growth and “efficiency.” Initial conversations focus on under-utilized campuses — but no mention is made of specific closure targets.
  • Summer–Fall 2023 – The community repeatedly asks for clarity on whether schools in the south, including Steiner, are being considered for closure. LISD continues to claim that “no decisions have been made,” even as behind-the-scenes modeling proceeds.
  • January 2024 – Data used by LISD begins to suggest slowed or even declining enrollment in several areas, including those marked for new construction — yet planning for new builds continues without pause.
  • Spring 2024 – The proposed “Paths” are finally revealed, and Steiner Ranch schools appear as possible closure targets — despite high performance and stable enrollment.
  • Now (2025) – The district has made clear it intends to move forward with one of the three paths, each of which includes school closures while continuing to construct new campuses elsewhere in the district.
  • This was never a transparent process. Community engagement was reactive, not proactive — and real alternatives like small school models, enrichment programs, and open transfers have been ignored.

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Key Questions for the LISD Board

  1. Why are you closing schools in one part of the district while opening new ones in another? Where is the evidence this benefits the district overall — not just certain neighborhoods?
  2. How does moving a principal or admin from Steiner to a new school save money? If enrollment is not increasing, you’re just relocating costs, not reducing them.
  3. What analysis has been done to compare the long-term costs of keeping schools open vs. building new ones — including facility maintenance, staffing, and community impact?
  4. Why weren’t small school models, magnet programs, or enrichment pilots offered as alternatives to closure?
  5. Why hasn’t the district publicly acknowledged that projected growth is slowing? If the student base is leveling off, why build more and close what already works?
 
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We Support:

  • Protecting Community Schools – especially in neighborhoods like Steiner that have strong performance, stable demographics, and deep community engagement.
  • True Fiscal Responsibility – honest accounting, transparent savings calculations, and thoughtful use of existing infrastructure.
  • Innovative Solutions – including small school models, magnet and enrichment programs, and transfer options to balance utilization without closures.
  • Support for Teachers and Staff – stability for the educators who have built successful schools and deserve job security, not displacement.
  • District-Wide Equity – all students, in all zip codes, deserve consistent investment, access, and opportunity.

We Do Not Support:

  • Closing viable schools to build new ones — this is not progress, it’s resource cannibalization.
  • Moving staff and calling it “savings” — shifting admin costs from south to north is not financial efficiency.
  • Top-down decisions that ignore community input — real engagement means co-creating solutions, not rubber-stamping pre-made plans.
  • Building while enrollment shrinks — if growth is slowing, why build at all?
  • Political promises that harm existing families — community trust is not a resource LISD can afford to waste.

Our Message to the Board:

We want LISD to succeed. But not by closing our schools to open others.

Not by moving staff and calling it savings.Not by misleading the public with flawed data and false choices.

We’re ready to work together — but we will not stand by while our schools are sacrificed for a vision we had no voice in shaping.

Listen to families. Stop the closures. Build a smarter, community-focused future.

Questions We Demand Answers To

These are not rhetorical. These are the questions families, taxpayers, and voters have repeatedly asked — and still haven’t gotten clear answers to.

  • Why is LISD closing high-performing, well-utilized schools in Steiner Ranch — while simultaneously building brand-new schools in other parts of the district?
    If LISD has limited funds, how is it fiscally responsible to shut down existing infrastructure just to open more?
  • What evidence exists that school closures actually lead to real cost savings — beyond shifting administrators or staff?
    Moving personnel from one school to another is not a “savings.” If there’s no overall student increase and no actual staff reductions, what exactly is being saved?
  • Why hasn't the district fully acknowledged the slowing — or possibly declining — growth in student enrollment?
    Building new schools in the north while enrollment stabilizes across the district isn’t proactive — it’s expensive and unnecessary.
  • Where is the complete cost-benefit analysis comparing closure vs. continued operation?
    We want to see real data: facility costs, per-pupil expenses, long-term community impact, and demographic forecasts — not just selective slides and talking points.
  • Why are small school models, magnet campuses, and enrichment program pilots not being explored as alternatives to closure?
    Other districts have used innovation to boost enrollment and balance budgets. Why not LISD?
  • Why are closure decisions being made before exhausting options like boundary adjustments, program consolidation, and voluntary transfers?
    Shouldn’t those be on the table before removing a community’s school?
  • Why does “equity” in LISD planning seem to mean taking away from one community to give to another?
    We support district-wide equity — but not by weakening one school to strengthen another. That’s not equity. That’s redistribution.
  • If we’re truly saving money, where are the long-term projections showing reinvestment into student learning, teacher salaries, or academic programs?
    What happens to the money “saved” — and how does it directly benefit students?
  • Why does every “Path” being presented involve closing schools — and none involve preserving communities?
    If three bad options are all we get, was community input ever genuinely considered?
  • How are you ensuring that staff, teachers, and principals being displaced by closures are supported and retained?
    These are the people who built successful schools. How will they be treated in this transition?
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