Three proposed plans offer different approaches to aging campuses, declining student numbers and the future of Amarillo ISD. Each comes with financial considerations, potential school closures and decisions that could affect families for years.

Amarillo Independent School District is facing a difficult reality: It has more classroom space than students to fill it, and the gap could continue growing in the years ahead.

On Tuesday evening, community members gathered at the AmTech Banquet Hall to hear three possible solutions to the district's declining enrollment. The proposals range from closing and consolidating existing campuses to a long-term rebuilding effort that could reshape the district over the next 15 years.

For families, teachers and neighborhoods, the discussion is about more than buildings. It raises questions about where children will attend school, how far they may have to travel and what the district's future could look like.

For district leaders, the challenge is finding a financially responsible way to operate schools while maintaining educational programs and minimizing disruption.

Neither side of that equation is simple.

Declining Enrollment Creates Pressure for Change

Amarillo ISD's Community Advisory Committee has been meeting since September to evaluate possible solutions. The committee is expected to select a recommended direction by Nov. 17 and present its guidance to the district's board of trustees in December.

The urgency comes from enrollment figures that suggest the district's current facilities may no longer match its student population.

On average, Amarillo ISD elementary schools are using approximately 70% of their available seats. If enrollment continues declining, that figure could fall to 61% within five years.

That means a growing share of classroom space could remain unused while the district continues maintaining and operating its facilities.

Amarillo ISD has already taken steps to address the problem. Three elementary schools closed effective last school year, but the enrollment decline has continued.

In March 2025, then-Superintendent Doug Loomis acknowledged that additional consolidations might be necessary.

Now, the district is considering how far those changes should go.

Consultant Bob Templeton, with STRIVE Public Policy Resources, presented three potential paths during Tuesday's meeting. The options were developed using recommendations and priorities identified during earlier committee discussions.

According to Templeton, those priorities include protecting district programs, maintaining consistency, considering high school feeder patterns, communicating decisions clearly and avoiding a rushed process.

The district's aging infrastructure is another important factor.

Templeton's research found that 35 of Amarillo ISD's 50 campuses were built before 1960, when schools were expanding to accommodate the post-World War II baby boom.

That creates a second challenge alongside declining enrollment: deciding whether to continue maintaining older buildings or invest in replacing them.

Path A: Faster Consolidation Without New Construction

The first proposal offers the quickest and least expensive approach among the three options presented.

Path A could begin by the 2027-28 school year and would not require new construction.

Instead, the district would retire three elementary campuses and move sixth-grade students into their corresponding middle schools.

In the Palo Duro High School cluster, George Washington Carver Early Childhood Academy would retire its campus, with students transferring to George Washington Carver Elementary Academy.

Allen Sixth Grade Campus would close, sending students to Horace Mann Middle School. Travis Sixth Grade Campus would also close, with students moving to Travis Middle School.

In the Caprock cluster, Landergin Elementary would retire, and students would attend Lamar Elementary. Bowie sixth-graders would move to Bowie Middle School.

The proposal would also adjust boundaries between Bonham and Crockett middle schools in the Amarillo High cluster and between Austin and Houston middle schools in the Tascosa cluster.

Wills Elementary would retire, with students transferring to San Jacinto Elementary.

The advantage of Path A is its relatively straightforward implementation. It avoids major construction projects and could address some underused facilities sooner.

However, it would only raise districtwide utilization to approximately 74%, below the district's 80% goal.

That raises an important question: Would the least expensive short-term solution provide enough flexibility if enrollment continues falling?

Path A could reduce operating costs and consolidate resources, but it might also leave the district facing similar decisions in the future.

Path B: Larger Schools and More Consolidations

Path B takes a more extensive approach by renovating and expanding selected campuses while retiring 10 smaller elementary schools.

Under this proposal, the Travis and Bowie sixth-grade campuses would be converted into elementary schools, each designed to accommodate approximately 750 students.

Those campuses were selected partly because they are among the district's newer facilities.

For perspective, Travis had 250 students enrolled last school year, while Bowie had 346.

Additional expansions would occur at Oak Dale, Western Plateau, Coronado and Avondale elementary schools.

Several smaller campuses, including Wolflin, Landergin, Sanborn and Glenwood, would be among those considered for retirement.

In the Palo Duro cluster, Mesa Verde and Hamlet elementary schools would retire, with students transferring to the renovated Travis campus. George Washington Carver Elementary Academy would also retire its campus, with students moving to the Early Childhood Academy location.

In the Caprock cluster, Sanborn and Glenwood students would move to the renovated Bowie campus. Landergin students would transfer to Lamar, while Lawndale students would attend an expanded Oak Dale Elementary.

Ridgecrest Elementary would close in the Amarillo High cluster, with students transferring to Western Plateau.

In the Tascosa cluster, San Jacinto students would move to Avondale, while Wolflin students could move to Coronado. Another option would close Wills and transfer its students to an expanded Avondale campus capable of serving more than 900 students.

Path B would raise utilization to approximately 76%.

Templeton estimated implementation would take nearly three years and require funding for renovations.

The proposal could allow Amarillo ISD to operate fewer, larger campuses with updated facilities.

However, it would also involve more closures and boundary changes than Path A.

For families, larger schools could mean access to consolidated resources and programs. At the same time, consolidations could change transportation arrangements, school communities and longstanding neighborhood connections.

The financial benefits would also need to be weighed against renovation expenses.

Plan C: Rebuilding for the Long Term

The third proposal is the most ambitious.

Rather than primarily consolidating students into existing facilities, Plan C would replace aging schools over approximately 15 years.

The proposal calls for retiring and replacing 12 to 14 elementary schools and four middle schools built before 1965.

Unlike the first two options, Plan C does not identify specific schools for closure.

Instead, construction and consolidation would occur in four waves, with the oldest structures receiving priority.

During the first two waves, four new schools would be constructed and six to eight existing campuses would retire.

Assuming funding is available, the first new schools could open in 2030, followed by another wave in 2034.

The third and fourth waves would add three new schools and retire another five to six campuses, with projected completion dates in 2038 and 2041.

Before construction begins, sixth-grade campuses would close as separate operations, and students would move into their corresponding middle schools.

The Travis and Bowie sixth-grade facilities would eventually be renovated into elementary campuses.

Templeton estimated that Plan C would require four bond cycles.

Unlike the other proposals, it could bring utilization near or above 80% after each wave, even as enrollment continues declining.

Its main advantage is the opportunity to address two problems simultaneously: excess classroom capacity and aging school buildings.

However, the proposal would require a substantial long-term financial commitment, voter consideration of bond funding and years of construction-related transitions.

A 15-year timeline also introduces uncertainty. Enrollment projections, construction costs and community needs could change considerably before the final phase is completed.

The Decision Goes Beyond Enrollment Numbers

Each proposal offers a different balance of cost, timing and long-term planning.

Path A prioritizes immediate efficiency without construction. Path B makes a larger investment in existing campuses while consolidating more schools. Plan C looks toward rebuilding the district's infrastructure over multiple decades.

None offers a completely disruption-free solution.

All three proposals would eliminate or repurpose the separate Allen, Travis and Bowie sixth-grade campuses.

Landergin Elementary is also identified for retirement under both Paths A and B, while Wills Elementary could be affected depending on the option selected.

Although utilization percentages provide a measurable goal, they cannot fully capture the impact of school closures on individual communities.

A school may have empty classrooms, but it can still serve as an important neighborhood institution.

Likewise, keeping underused buildings open can create financial pressures that affect resources available for instruction, maintenance and student programs.

The committee must consider both realities.

One issue deserving particular attention is whether projected savings from consolidation would translate into meaningful educational benefits. Another is how transportation, staffing and campus capacity would be managed as students move between schools.

Clear communication will be especially important because families need time to understand potential boundary changes and prepare for transitions.

What Happens Next?

The Community Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet again Nov. 17 for another round of feedback before presenting its recommendation to Amarillo ISD trustees in December.

The proposals remain options under consideration, not final decisions.

Community members can review meeting slides and recordings through the district's website to better understand the alternatives.

Ultimately, Amarillo ISD's challenge is not simply determining how many schools it can close. It is deciding what kind of school system will best serve a smaller student population while preserving educational opportunities.

The district has an opportunity to address long-standing facility concerns, but the consequences of its decisions could extend well beyond the next budget cycle.

Whether the committee favors immediate consolidation, targeted renovations or long-term rebuilding, the most effective path will need to balance financial sustainability with the needs of students, families and neighborhoods.

For Amarillo ISD, the coming weeks represent an important stage in that process.

The central question is no longer whether declining enrollment requires attention. It is how the district can respond without losing sight of the communities its schools were built to serve.