Spring Branch ISD will redistribute 452 students to nearby schools.
HOUSTON — The Spring Branch Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Monday to close Northbrook Middle School at the end of the current school year, citing declining enrollment and the need to use district resources more efficiently.
The board approved the closure and redistributed its roughly 452 students among three nearby middle schools: Spring Oaks Middle School, Spring Woods Middle School, and Landrum Middle School.
The decision comes after years of enrollment losses across the district, with SBISD seeing a drop of approximately 2,000 students in recent years. The board attributed the decline to rising property values, gentrification, and families relocating to more affordable suburban areas. The sharpest losses have been concentrated in the feeder patterns for Spring Woods High School and Northbrook High School, which include all four of the affected middle schools.
Northbrook Middle School was the smallest comprehensive middle school in the district, and its enrollment had been falling steadily. The board said running a small campus makes it harder to sustain the academic programs, extracurricular activities, and student support services the district is committed to providing.
District leaders say Northbrook is operating at about 50% capacity and received an F accountability rating last year.
District officials previously said there are enough open positions across the district to keep all Northbrook employees working.
Many members of the community were critical of the closure.
“Hearing is cheap,” said David Lopez, Director of Somo Spring Branch, during public comment. “What does it mean if you hear us and close the school anyway? That means you didn’t actually listen. You just wanted us to feel heard.”
Along with the closure, the board approved boundary adjustments to accommodate the incoming students at the three receiving schools. That includes realignment of the Spring Woods Middle School boundary with Spring Oaks Middle School.
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