At Tuesday night’s regular board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Kimberley Cantu, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Sean Scott, and a team of administrators presented a plan of sustainable solutions to advance Mansfield ISD’s position as a destination district committed to excellence.

The primary goal of the proposed plan is to stabilize the district’s financial standing without resorting to school closures, as other districts have had to do. Other objectives of the plan include expanding school choice for families while continuing to raise the academic performance of our schools.

The solutions presented to the board reflected recommendations made by Mansfield ISD parents, community members, and staff who served on the district’s Growth and Attendance Zone Committee in 2023.

The comprehensive presentation included the following topics:

• an overview of current school funding issues and challenges;
• proposed legislation under consideration at the state level addressing funding, open enrollment, and vouchers;
• the need to adjust several elementary attendance zones to address rapid growth and capacity limits at Norwood Elementary;
• a proposal to accept transfer students who live outside the boundaries of Mansfield ISD and who also meet specific discipline, academic, and attendance criteria for grades K-4 at specific elementary campuses with available capacity;
• the addition of a new choice program (ALPHA Academy for Gifted Learners at Glenn Harmon Elementary);
• repurposing existing space to serve more students at Phoenix Academy and the district’s DAEP program; and
• an overview of the district’s STEM offerings and how the district plans to keep up with the rapidly growing demand so that more students can be served.

View the slide deck for the Ahead of the Curve presentation here. Watch the video to learn more about ALPHA Academy.