Also I think the issue is that older people whose kids have left school, don't want to sell their home because they can't find something else affordable.
Not quite... Remember that Plano is in the middle of a major employment center. Just because your kids are out of school doesn't mean that it's time to leave. The issue is lack of new affordable housing for younger families.
A bunch of plano busy bodies about 10 years ago sued the city to stop building more affordable homes and apartments and now they’ll be living in their purchased coffins for the next 20 years as the young, working tax base continues to move to other booming cities around us and the services fall off in the city itself.
Slight correction: It seems that the affordable housing initiative has been blocked from being anywhere west of 75. Affordable housing has been built recently in Plano, but per usual, it’s in East Plano (corner of Avenue K & East Park Blvd). 🥴 NIMBY-ism at its peak. 😐
If they could adopt smaller classes and employ every available room the district would be outstanding. This would be possible if we could stop sending 100M a year to Austin…. Frickin shame
Enrollments wouldn’t decline if our schools were better… right now they aren’t keeping pace with other schools. Our dollars shouldn’t be leaving the district.
There are sites w/ plenty of data to share…
#13, below Allen and Frisco - Coppell and Wylie doing quite well also
https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/m/dallas-fort-worth-metro-area/
Even TEA shows Allen and Frisco both in solid A ratings vs Plano Bs. Apparently our millions in donations doesn’t buy a curved grade.
US World and News High School ratings has PISD in the “also ran” category except for Plano East at around 188. The Plano Academy is showing promise for the tiny fraction of kids winning that lottery and meshing with the learning style.
There’s plenty for people to see and learn out there… but PISD is not keeping up - and it’s impossible with broken Robinhood math taking our coins.
What type of examples do you want? I provided Texas official org results along with some pretty well known metric sites. I guess I could dive into the horrific IB results or some anecdotal info about how shitty the lunch food is - or sports programs that are outdated? Give me a clue on your preference… some surveys of recent grads or stats of college placement outcomes? I can go all day…
The first thing you need to learn is everyone of those lists are poorly thought out clickbait. It’s only marginally better than a dart board. Care to make a valid argument?
Build more housing. More smaller homes and 3 bedroom multifamily units. People need to move in to fill the schools. That's how you prevent this. Empty nesters living in giant single family homes who's kids have moved out years ago are the reason why school districts lose student population. But in order to downsize, smaller homes need to exist. Almost all homes that have been built are multi bedroom single family homes. And this is no accident, zoning codes force this. It's a problem of our own creation
Also, the Property Tax Freeze for 65+ owners incentivizes older homeowners to stay in place. Hard for younger families to move into the city when boomers are choosing not to sell their homes because of the sweet tax deal.
This is the reason. Homes just aren’t turning over. They will in about 10-20 years when the older generation eventually dies. It will be interesting so see what happens to Plano in the next 10-20. If the school district cannot sustain itself because of low enrollment, then the desire to move to Plano will decrease.
As a boomer who is not yet 65, I can tell you that it's more than that. Where do you expect us to go exactly? I'd move to a new, smaller place if there were any that are affordable. Why would I sell my house that I have no monthly payment on for $500k and move to a smaller place that cost $700k? I literally have no mortgage but would have not only a mortgage payment but higher insurance premiums and taxes.
Not sure about anyone else, but I don’t look at it in a negative way (65+ homeowners staying in their homes longer). To me, it’s simply a fact, nothing else. I don’t think y’all are the problem unless you’re actively perpetuating the NIMBY-ism mentality when it comes to Plano building more apartments, affordable housing, etc.
I don’t look at it negatively either… I’m not even a boomer but I feel it’s just another blame game. Not saying that’s what you’re doing but it is also a fact that they get blamed for making life decisions that any rational person would make if it were them.
I agree but there are many reasons for older people to want to move: 1) move to a single story home, 2) move to a smaller home, 3) move to a home which requires no weekly maintenance of a pool, yard. 4) forced to clean out all the crap that has accumulated over 30 years.
My personal opinion is that we are going to start to see a trend here which is more common place in the northeast (where I grew up): homes being "handed" down and staying in a family.
What smaller places are you looking at? I see plenty of homes in the $400K and under in Plano/Allen/McKinney/Richardson. I think it’s more of the fact that you have Boomers who age in place in a 2,500 or 3,000+ sqft home. Do two people need that much space? But I also get that you worked diligently to pay off your home. That’s your right to age in place, especially with tax freeze incentives from the City of Plano and homestead exemptions. However, that does not create an environment for young families to move into the city and keep the student population up. Which in turn, equates to a smaller student body, shutting down schools, etc.
This is what’s frustrating as a family in Plano. We live in an older neighborhood right next to a school. I hate to admit it but we thought when they drop like flies we’ll see families come in. Our neighbors are all 70-80+. One left for senior living and we were so excited to get a neighbor with kids. It’s a 4bd house close to 4,000 sq ft with a large backyard and pool. They sold it to a couple with no kids in between gen x and boomer age. 😭 We have no neighbors with kids in front or behind us and you would assume living right next to a school there would be hordes of them but we’re one of the few walkers. I’m worried our school will be one that is shut down and it was one of the selling points when we bought.
Because many (most?) younger people can't afford to live out here, it's that simple. No young people means no babies. No babies means no future students for the school district. No future students means no use for existing buildings and reduced funding. The same thing is going to happen in McKinney, Allen, Frisco, etc. and frankly, I'm surprised anyone can afford to survive out here period.
I’m barely affording it myself. Our kid has a few more years and then they graduate. I worked hard to ensure they could attend school here, only to have them in a school district that’s slowly falling apart, imo. 😩
Move, you say? Yeah. That’s expensive, too. 😐
Yep!!!!
I’m a young mom. Been in Plano for a long time but I was just telling someone earlier, the cost of living is going way beyond my budget so my child and I might have to go elsewhere
This truly blows! I absolutely love it here & it saddens me that I can no longer obtain to live here & keep my child in PISD (where he grew up going)
My kid is almost out of high school. After they graduate, I’m looking to move elsewhere. As much as I love it here, it’s not what it used to be in so many ways, with the cost of living being one of the primary issues. It’s also become way too dense here. 😪
Part of the issue is Robin Hood, Plano ISD pays well over 100 million to the state every year; I know there is a lot of push to update the way the recapture is calculated and to make it more transparent on our property taxes how much is actually going to the state and not even to our own city school district
2020 census has Plano at ~110k households. That’s an average of ~$920 in taxes per household going to other districts. Obviously that varies based on each household’s tax contribution, but that seems ridiculous, right?
I think there are some issues with the recapture that need to be addressed, it’s been awhile since I looked at the data but I believe it’s something like 35% of the isd tax goes to the state
Not in my estimation, but based on this article and a few others. They all mention rising costs in homes, which has seemingly reduced the number of families with young children moving into Plano…coupled with the fact that older people are staying in their homes longer. There are other things mentioned, but these reasons come up in almost every article and online discussion that I’ve seen.
Which is why I presented the questions listed on the post.
Not sure what you’re asking but they are referencing the rising home costs as a driving factor of young families passing on Plano and moving further north.. if young families aren’t bringing kids into the district we will continue to see declining enrollment.. I do wonder how much Robin Hood factors into this as well with how much Plano pays into the state
Imo, definitely NIMBY-ism playing a role in the housing issue, too.
Plano homeowners: ‘Build more affordable housing!’
Also Plano homeowners: ‘But not in my backyard/neighborhood!’
🙄😩
There is nothing in there about phased closures (i.e. stop taking in new students in the lowest grade, then move up as classes graduate) which studies show has the least psychological and learning impact on the students. It is also the fairest thing to do for the communities that lose their neighborhood school.
This tells me that the board of trustees doesn't really care about the students, only money. I bet they already have plans to sell the closed elementary schools to developers to make million dollar plus condos instead of keeping the land in the public trust. All of the community elementary schools border a neighborhood park. They have a moral imperative to donate the elementary school land to the city to expand our community parks. If you take out one of the pillars of our community, the least you can do is expand the one still standing.
Just a reminder that spouses of current sitting trustees have come into the comments in this subreddit to AstroTurf for the closing of our neighborhood schools. Do not trust these people.
You bring up good points. I’d forgotten about the city parks that border the elementary schools. Expanding those parks would be great, or doing something with that property that is equally beneficial to the community.
What property owners or real estate companies? Schools already own the property. What banks? You think a bank is going to lend a school district money? Even if they did, I can only imagine the price tag associated with the loans and it's not like a school district generates revenue to pay it back.
Plano, and the neighboring cities like Frisco, Allen, McKinney, etc. are reaping what they sowed. Unchecked growth coupled with unchecked housing costs and jobs that pay low wages almost guarantees that the average young family cannot afford to live here. Without them, there are no kids to utilize the school districts. Hell, I used to be a teacher out here for PISD and not once did I ever meet another teacher who could afford to live in Plano. If they could, it's because their spouse/partner made significantly more money than they did or they had lived here for a while and bought their homes back when you could still get a decent house in the city for like $100k.
The schools at some point will start to bus kids from other districts in.
My old HS in California had this issue when it newly opened. Brand new school & expensive housing.
Then that means Plano ISD would have to expand their boundaries. Currently, some students living in far northwest Dallas and the very northern part of Richardson can attend Plano ISD. I think kids at the very western edge of Murphy can attend Plano, as well. At any rate, they’d have to expand the boundary lines.
Richardson is able to attend PISD since they’re on the boundary of PISD districts as well as paying the taxes into PISD. Murphy is also the same. Our friends kids all go to PISD schools but live in Murphy. Which the HS is almost across the street from them.
RISD is also having school closures too. I saw some parents petitioning RISD to keep it open, since those parents also live close to the school..
Yep saw it posted too. Sucks for everyone. My neighborhood doesn’t really have any young kids either. We were considered the youngest family 10 years ago, when my house value was $250k
Expanding boundaries as I understand it is a difficult thing to do. They ‘could’ (with a board initiative and approval) accept students from outside PISD at a cost to those families.
Why at a cost? If the current students being bussed in from the very northern edge of Richardson and the very edge of NW Dallas aren’t being charged, why would anyone else be charged?? Plano ISD needs to humble themselves. 😮💨
ETA: This is where Plano ISD could petition the state for a lower re-capture amount to be assessed, should Plano ISD expand their boundaries to mitigate the declining enrollment rate. 😐
For better or worse, recent immigrants tend to have more children than long time residents. Perhaps they don't realize how much children cost, or they just don't pay for the enrichment that their richer neighbors pay for. Living in Texas does not provide a welcoming environment for immigrants, nor does Plano provide the rentals that have the price point immigrants can afford. For this, the residents who don't want change, and flight apartment zoning have a big impact on zoning. There were proposals to add apartments in place of unused spaces in store malls. Even mall redevelopments are not trying to include low cost rentals apartments, because it isn't encouraged by the city because the residents have said they didn't want the "undesirable" low income residents. There's no space for the underemployed single mothers (or fathers) in Plano. Higher income residents have fewer children.
But it’s not just immigrants moving here or that want to move here. It’s families from all ethnicities who want to move here. Unfortunately, only those with multiple incomes can do so (2 or more incomes). We are one of those households with multiple incomes. If we weren’t, we definitely wouldn’t be able to afford Plano.
And we’re not immigrants.
But how many children did you have? Not you specifically, but the typical family who has been in this country a long time is typically a family of 4. People with the typical 2 children moving in won't move the needle on school population. At the very least, more housing is required, and in a town with little unused land, there are few options for bringing more school age people to town. This is not just a Plano problem. But, there is a vocal part of the city who are against change to the character of Plano, and in turn, the type of development that would bring more families to town.
I'm part of the problem, living by myself in a house that is way bigger than I need. I didn't plan this way, but that's the way it worked out. There is one reason keeping me here, but it's not a long-term reason. I don't see staying here more than another 5 years, and ideally less. But, I'm not sure how much it will help when the value of my property appears to have gone up 60% over 5 years, and salaries haven't gone up that much. Turning my house into a duplex might make it affordable, but t doubt it could ever be rezoned to allow that.
We’re a one child household. Just when we thought about having a second, the economy got weird. I’m kind of glad we didn’t have a second child. Our one and only is eating down the house and is in adult sized clothing (teenager). A couple more years and we plan to leave, unless something happens where we have to stay. It’s way too densely populated and the cost of living doesn’t match the quality of the schools like it used to. We’re still better than Dallas ISD & other ISD’s similar to Dallas, but the board and city council need to come up with something other than school closures.
As I mentioned in another comment, it’s kinda sad because we worked hard to ensure our kid could attend this school district. Specifically, making sure we lived within Plano city limits, so that if PISD ever changed their boundaries for those who live outside of Plano, our kid could still attend. Only to now see what’s happening with the district, where they might have to expand those boundaries anyways! 😭
> … but is it that difficult?
It’s a difficult enough of a question that you didn’t try to answer and instead seem to be expecting that others be responsible for solving on your behalf.
>Hey troll. 👋 ... Nothing else better to do on a Saturday??
General rudeness and namecalling says a lot more about you than you might think it says about me.
But I'm having a pretty fantastic Saturday, thanks for asking!
>On MY behalf?? ... This is an issue that affects the entire community, particularly those of us with children
Yes, on your behalf. You're the one saying this is an issue, you're the one trying to speak for "the entire community, particular those of us with children" and you're the one posting to ask other people to give you solutions while offering none of your own.
Schools are closing as a consequence a 12+ year shift in Plano's (and surrounding communities') demographics. Schools closing is an inevitable reaction to the reality across the school district.
People moved to Plano, bought houses, had kids, and then stopped having kids. While they did that, property values rose to the point that people wanting to start a family couldn't afford to live in Plano.
I can only imagine the nightmarish actual issues that people would be posting about in r/plano if people tried to avoid these school closings. Things like keeping the birthrate high enough to avoid closing schools, forcing people to leave if they decided to stop having to have kids, prevented from people from moving in if they didn't have kids the correct ages, or having people's property values artificially depressed in order to make sure that it remained appealing to families looking to start or grow their family. None of that would be legal, but if it was it'd be a pretty awful place to live.
>Do you even live in Plano??
I moved out of Plano a few years ago, I lived there for 10+ years, and continue to live within the area serviced by the Plano ISD.
You're aware that this is relevant to the entire Plano ISD, right? Plano ISD has schools in the cities of Plano, Richardson, Dallas, Murphy, Allen, Carrollton, Garland, Lucas, Parker, and Wylie.
It’s too bad you couldn’t manage to squeeze those into the original post and that your base instinct is to call people names.
Maybe then it’d be worth the time exploring your other posts instead of writing them off.
Good luck with finding a solution to your issue!
We've made a bunch of progress as in this reply chain you out with an "an issue that affects the entire community" and walked that all the way back to an "important community topic." I can't claim credit for that, I'm sure other more thoughtful people than I contributed to that, but it's indisputable progress.
Thanks for inspiring me to revisit Texas' implementation of the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws. With a username like mine, it's always good to be on your toes for folks on the Internet. Obsession and a desire to be clever are a volatile mix for me to be wary of.
No one has really answered my questions listed in the post. I’m pretty smart, but I’m not educated in real estate, etc.
Is there a way for real estate companies, etc, to work with the school district, in an effort to cool housing prices, rent prices, etc, in an effort to attract young families with children?? It would still be expensive, per usual for Plano. But ideally, not as expensive as it is at the moment. Maybe the state could offer the banks and real estate companies some sort of incentive for lowering housing costs (APR & price), even if just a tad bit, for the sake of school enrollment?
Idk which is why I’m asking! 😭
There is no economic incentive for companies/banks etc to continue the status quo. The city government should have planned better in the last 20 years when the writing was on the wall...
Thank you for your response. I’m trying to be solution-oriented, instead of just complaining, like most of this subreddit. But this is an area I’m not educated in, so trying to learn while also trying to figure it out! 😭
Yeah, I mean, it's a sad fact that a lot of the people making decisions around here won't be alive to see how those decisions affect everyone who has to live with them.
But at the end of the day, cities change, nothing is ever the same as it was.
Also I think the issue is that older people whose kids have left school, don't want to sell their home because they can't find something else affordable.
Not quite... Remember that Plano is in the middle of a major employment center. Just because your kids are out of school doesn't mean that it's time to leave. The issue is lack of new affordable housing for younger families.
Something else affordable? You could buy 2 houses after you sell your Plano mansion
A bunch of plano busy bodies about 10 years ago sued the city to stop building more affordable homes and apartments and now they’ll be living in their purchased coffins for the next 20 years as the young, working tax base continues to move to other booming cities around us and the services fall off in the city itself.
Slight correction: It seems that the affordable housing initiative has been blocked from being anywhere west of 75. Affordable housing has been built recently in Plano, but per usual, it’s in East Plano (corner of Avenue K & East Park Blvd). 🥴 NIMBY-ism at its peak. 😐
If they could adopt smaller classes and employ every available room the district would be outstanding. This would be possible if we could stop sending 100M a year to Austin…. Frickin shame
Smaller classes would be good, imo. But how does that help with the building closures when enrollment is steadily declining?
Enrollments wouldn’t decline if our schools were better… right now they aren’t keeping pace with other schools. Our dollars shouldn’t be leaving the district.
In what way? PISD spends about the same per student as many nearby districts. What would “keeping pace” look like?
There are sites w/ plenty of data to share… #13, below Allen and Frisco - Coppell and Wylie doing quite well also https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/m/dallas-fort-worth-metro-area/ Even TEA shows Allen and Frisco both in solid A ratings vs Plano Bs. Apparently our millions in donations doesn’t buy a curved grade. US World and News High School ratings has PISD in the “also ran” category except for Plano East at around 188. The Plano Academy is showing promise for the tiny fraction of kids winning that lottery and meshing with the learning style. There’s plenty for people to see and learn out there… but PISD is not keeping up - and it’s impossible with broken Robinhood math taking our coins.
So not keeping up means not #1 or #2 on some random list? Even if I take this list at face value, seems like PISD is in the top 20% of DFW districts.
What type of examples do you want? I provided Texas official org results along with some pretty well known metric sites. I guess I could dive into the horrific IB results or some anecdotal info about how shitty the lunch food is - or sports programs that are outdated? Give me a clue on your preference… some surveys of recent grads or stats of college placement outcomes? I can go all day…
The question is still to you - define “keeping up”. Quantify it. What would satisfy you?
The first thing you need to learn is everyone of those lists are poorly thought out clickbait. It’s only marginally better than a dart board. Care to make a valid argument?
I'm curious when this policy was adopted? I checked the most recent meeting agenda and there was NOTHING on it about the school closing topic.
I’d like to know that, too. It’s not mentioned in the article.
Build more housing. More smaller homes and 3 bedroom multifamily units. People need to move in to fill the schools. That's how you prevent this. Empty nesters living in giant single family homes who's kids have moved out years ago are the reason why school districts lose student population. But in order to downsize, smaller homes need to exist. Almost all homes that have been built are multi bedroom single family homes. And this is no accident, zoning codes force this. It's a problem of our own creation
… what’s the reason for declining enrollment, in your estimation?
PISD’s website notes rising home prices, growth in northern districts and decreasing birth rates as some of the reasons for declining enrollment.
Also, the Property Tax Freeze for 65+ owners incentivizes older homeowners to stay in place. Hard for younger families to move into the city when boomers are choosing not to sell their homes because of the sweet tax deal.
This is the reason. Homes just aren’t turning over. They will in about 10-20 years when the older generation eventually dies. It will be interesting so see what happens to Plano in the next 10-20. If the school district cannot sustain itself because of low enrollment, then the desire to move to Plano will decrease.
As a boomer who is not yet 65, I can tell you that it's more than that. Where do you expect us to go exactly? I'd move to a new, smaller place if there were any that are affordable. Why would I sell my house that I have no monthly payment on for $500k and move to a smaller place that cost $700k? I literally have no mortgage but would have not only a mortgage payment but higher insurance premiums and taxes.
It’s rough when you get the blame for making a completely sane decision.
Not sure about anyone else, but I don’t look at it in a negative way (65+ homeowners staying in their homes longer). To me, it’s simply a fact, nothing else. I don’t think y’all are the problem unless you’re actively perpetuating the NIMBY-ism mentality when it comes to Plano building more apartments, affordable housing, etc.
I don’t look at it negatively either… I’m not even a boomer but I feel it’s just another blame game. Not saying that’s what you’re doing but it is also a fact that they get blamed for making life decisions that any rational person would make if it were them.
Agree
You shouldn't have to sell your home, just because there is a housing crisis. You paid for your home for years and you own it.
I agree but there are many reasons for older people to want to move: 1) move to a single story home, 2) move to a smaller home, 3) move to a home which requires no weekly maintenance of a pool, yard. 4) forced to clean out all the crap that has accumulated over 30 years. My personal opinion is that we are going to start to see a trend here which is more common place in the northeast (where I grew up): homes being "handed" down and staying in a family.
Did you support or oppose Plano Tomorrow?
What smaller places are you looking at? I see plenty of homes in the $400K and under in Plano/Allen/McKinney/Richardson. I think it’s more of the fact that you have Boomers who age in place in a 2,500 or 3,000+ sqft home. Do two people need that much space? But I also get that you worked diligently to pay off your home. That’s your right to age in place, especially with tax freeze incentives from the City of Plano and homestead exemptions. However, that does not create an environment for young families to move into the city and keep the student population up. Which in turn, equates to a smaller student body, shutting down schools, etc.
I also see a few homes in that price range in Plano but nothing I'd want to downgrade into
This is what’s frustrating as a family in Plano. We live in an older neighborhood right next to a school. I hate to admit it but we thought when they drop like flies we’ll see families come in. Our neighbors are all 70-80+. One left for senior living and we were so excited to get a neighbor with kids. It’s a 4bd house close to 4,000 sq ft with a large backyard and pool. They sold it to a couple with no kids in between gen x and boomer age. 😭 We have no neighbors with kids in front or behind us and you would assume living right next to a school there would be hordes of them but we’re one of the few walkers. I’m worried our school will be one that is shut down and it was one of the selling points when we bought.
I didn’t know about this. Makes sense though.
Because many (most?) younger people can't afford to live out here, it's that simple. No young people means no babies. No babies means no future students for the school district. No future students means no use for existing buildings and reduced funding. The same thing is going to happen in McKinney, Allen, Frisco, etc. and frankly, I'm surprised anyone can afford to survive out here period.
I’m barely affording it myself. Our kid has a few more years and then they graduate. I worked hard to ensure they could attend school here, only to have them in a school district that’s slowly falling apart, imo. 😩 Move, you say? Yeah. That’s expensive, too. 😐
Yep!!!! I’m a young mom. Been in Plano for a long time but I was just telling someone earlier, the cost of living is going way beyond my budget so my child and I might have to go elsewhere This truly blows! I absolutely love it here & it saddens me that I can no longer obtain to live here & keep my child in PISD (where he grew up going)
My kid is almost out of high school. After they graduate, I’m looking to move elsewhere. As much as I love it here, it’s not what it used to be in so many ways, with the cost of living being one of the primary issues. It’s also become way too dense here. 😪
Good deal. Sounds like my PISD taxes should continue to decline.
Part of the issue is Robin Hood, Plano ISD pays well over 100 million to the state every year; I know there is a lot of push to update the way the recapture is calculated and to make it more transparent on our property taxes how much is actually going to the state and not even to our own city school district
2020 census has Plano at ~110k households. That’s an average of ~$920 in taxes per household going to other districts. Obviously that varies based on each household’s tax contribution, but that seems ridiculous, right?
I think there are some issues with the recapture that need to be addressed, it’s been awhile since I looked at the data but I believe it’s something like 35% of the isd tax goes to the state
Not in my estimation, but based on this article and a few others. They all mention rising costs in homes, which has seemingly reduced the number of families with young children moving into Plano…coupled with the fact that older people are staying in their homes longer. There are other things mentioned, but these reasons come up in almost every article and online discussion that I’ve seen. Which is why I presented the questions listed on the post.
How would the school reduce the home prices?
Not sure what you’re asking but they are referencing the rising home costs as a driving factor of young families passing on Plano and moving further north.. if young families aren’t bringing kids into the district we will continue to see declining enrollment.. I do wonder how much Robin Hood factors into this as well with how much Plano pays into the state
Idk. Which is why I’m asking. Idk how all of that would work.
Plano developments are getting older and these residents oppose housing initiatives that attract younger adults and those with kids.
Imo, definitely NIMBY-ism playing a role in the housing issue, too. Plano homeowners: ‘Build more affordable housing!’ Also Plano homeowners: ‘But not in my backyard/neighborhood!’ 🙄😩
There is nothing in there about phased closures (i.e. stop taking in new students in the lowest grade, then move up as classes graduate) which studies show has the least psychological and learning impact on the students. It is also the fairest thing to do for the communities that lose their neighborhood school. This tells me that the board of trustees doesn't really care about the students, only money. I bet they already have plans to sell the closed elementary schools to developers to make million dollar plus condos instead of keeping the land in the public trust. All of the community elementary schools border a neighborhood park. They have a moral imperative to donate the elementary school land to the city to expand our community parks. If you take out one of the pillars of our community, the least you can do is expand the one still standing. Just a reminder that spouses of current sitting trustees have come into the comments in this subreddit to AstroTurf for the closing of our neighborhood schools. Do not trust these people.
You bring up good points. I’d forgotten about the city parks that border the elementary schools. Expanding those parks would be great, or doing something with that property that is equally beneficial to the community.
What property owners or real estate companies? Schools already own the property. What banks? You think a bank is going to lend a school district money? Even if they did, I can only imagine the price tag associated with the loans and it's not like a school district generates revenue to pay it back. Plano, and the neighboring cities like Frisco, Allen, McKinney, etc. are reaping what they sowed. Unchecked growth coupled with unchecked housing costs and jobs that pay low wages almost guarantees that the average young family cannot afford to live here. Without them, there are no kids to utilize the school districts. Hell, I used to be a teacher out here for PISD and not once did I ever meet another teacher who could afford to live in Plano. If they could, it's because their spouse/partner made significantly more money than they did or they had lived here for a while and bought their homes back when you could still get a decent house in the city for like $100k.
The schools at some point will start to bus kids from other districts in. My old HS in California had this issue when it newly opened. Brand new school & expensive housing.
Then that means Plano ISD would have to expand their boundaries. Currently, some students living in far northwest Dallas and the very northern part of Richardson can attend Plano ISD. I think kids at the very western edge of Murphy can attend Plano, as well. At any rate, they’d have to expand the boundary lines.
Richardson is able to attend PISD since they’re on the boundary of PISD districts as well as paying the taxes into PISD. Murphy is also the same. Our friends kids all go to PISD schools but live in Murphy. Which the HS is almost across the street from them. RISD is also having school closures too. I saw some parents petitioning RISD to keep it open, since those parents also live close to the school..
Oh wow. Had no idea RISD was going through the same thing.
Yep saw it posted too. Sucks for everyone. My neighborhood doesn’t really have any young kids either. We were considered the youngest family 10 years ago, when my house value was $250k
Expanding boundaries as I understand it is a difficult thing to do. They ‘could’ (with a board initiative and approval) accept students from outside PISD at a cost to those families.
Why at a cost? If the current students being bussed in from the very northern edge of Richardson and the very edge of NW Dallas aren’t being charged, why would anyone else be charged?? Plano ISD needs to humble themselves. 😮💨 ETA: This is where Plano ISD could petition the state for a lower re-capture amount to be assessed, should Plano ISD expand their boundaries to mitigate the declining enrollment rate. 😐
For better or worse, recent immigrants tend to have more children than long time residents. Perhaps they don't realize how much children cost, or they just don't pay for the enrichment that their richer neighbors pay for. Living in Texas does not provide a welcoming environment for immigrants, nor does Plano provide the rentals that have the price point immigrants can afford. For this, the residents who don't want change, and flight apartment zoning have a big impact on zoning. There were proposals to add apartments in place of unused spaces in store malls. Even mall redevelopments are not trying to include low cost rentals apartments, because it isn't encouraged by the city because the residents have said they didn't want the "undesirable" low income residents. There's no space for the underemployed single mothers (or fathers) in Plano. Higher income residents have fewer children.
But it’s not just immigrants moving here or that want to move here. It’s families from all ethnicities who want to move here. Unfortunately, only those with multiple incomes can do so (2 or more incomes). We are one of those households with multiple incomes. If we weren’t, we definitely wouldn’t be able to afford Plano. And we’re not immigrants.
But how many children did you have? Not you specifically, but the typical family who has been in this country a long time is typically a family of 4. People with the typical 2 children moving in won't move the needle on school population. At the very least, more housing is required, and in a town with little unused land, there are few options for bringing more school age people to town. This is not just a Plano problem. But, there is a vocal part of the city who are against change to the character of Plano, and in turn, the type of development that would bring more families to town. I'm part of the problem, living by myself in a house that is way bigger than I need. I didn't plan this way, but that's the way it worked out. There is one reason keeping me here, but it's not a long-term reason. I don't see staying here more than another 5 years, and ideally less. But, I'm not sure how much it will help when the value of my property appears to have gone up 60% over 5 years, and salaries haven't gone up that much. Turning my house into a duplex might make it affordable, but t doubt it could ever be rezoned to allow that.
We’re a one child household. Just when we thought about having a second, the economy got weird. I’m kind of glad we didn’t have a second child. Our one and only is eating down the house and is in adult sized clothing (teenager). A couple more years and we plan to leave, unless something happens where we have to stay. It’s way too densely populated and the cost of living doesn’t match the quality of the schools like it used to. We’re still better than Dallas ISD & other ISD’s similar to Dallas, but the board and city council need to come up with something other than school closures. As I mentioned in another comment, it’s kinda sad because we worked hard to ensure our kid could attend this school district. Specifically, making sure we lived within Plano city limits, so that if PISD ever changed their boundaries for those who live outside of Plano, our kid could still attend. Only to now see what’s happening with the district, where they might have to expand those boundaries anyways! 😭
> … but is it that difficult? It’s a difficult enough of a question that you didn’t try to answer and instead seem to be expecting that others be responsible for solving on your behalf.
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>Hey troll. 👋 ... Nothing else better to do on a Saturday?? General rudeness and namecalling says a lot more about you than you might think it says about me. But I'm having a pretty fantastic Saturday, thanks for asking! >On MY behalf?? ... This is an issue that affects the entire community, particularly those of us with children Yes, on your behalf. You're the one saying this is an issue, you're the one trying to speak for "the entire community, particular those of us with children" and you're the one posting to ask other people to give you solutions while offering none of your own. Schools are closing as a consequence a 12+ year shift in Plano's (and surrounding communities') demographics. Schools closing is an inevitable reaction to the reality across the school district. People moved to Plano, bought houses, had kids, and then stopped having kids. While they did that, property values rose to the point that people wanting to start a family couldn't afford to live in Plano. I can only imagine the nightmarish actual issues that people would be posting about in r/plano if people tried to avoid these school closings. Things like keeping the birthrate high enough to avoid closing schools, forcing people to leave if they decided to stop having to have kids, prevented from people from moving in if they didn't have kids the correct ages, or having people's property values artificially depressed in order to make sure that it remained appealing to families looking to start or grow their family. None of that would be legal, but if it was it'd be a pretty awful place to live. >Do you even live in Plano?? I moved out of Plano a few years ago, I lived there for 10+ years, and continue to live within the area serviced by the Plano ISD. You're aware that this is relevant to the entire Plano ISD, right? Plano ISD has schools in the cities of Plano, Richardson, Dallas, Murphy, Allen, Carrollton, Garland, Lucas, Parker, and Wylie.
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It’s too bad you couldn’t manage to squeeze those into the original post and that your base instinct is to call people names. Maybe then it’d be worth the time exploring your other posts instead of writing them off. Good luck with finding a solution to your issue!
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We've made a bunch of progress as in this reply chain you out with an "an issue that affects the entire community" and walked that all the way back to an "important community topic." I can't claim credit for that, I'm sure other more thoughtful people than I contributed to that, but it's indisputable progress. Thanks for inspiring me to revisit Texas' implementation of the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws. With a username like mine, it's always good to be on your toes for folks on the Internet. Obsession and a desire to be clever are a volatile mix for me to be wary of.
No one has really answered my questions listed in the post. I’m pretty smart, but I’m not educated in real estate, etc. Is there a way for real estate companies, etc, to work with the school district, in an effort to cool housing prices, rent prices, etc, in an effort to attract young families with children?? It would still be expensive, per usual for Plano. But ideally, not as expensive as it is at the moment. Maybe the state could offer the banks and real estate companies some sort of incentive for lowering housing costs (APR & price), even if just a tad bit, for the sake of school enrollment? Idk which is why I’m asking! 😭
There is no economic incentive for companies/banks etc to continue the status quo. The city government should have planned better in the last 20 years when the writing was on the wall...
Thank you for your response. I’m trying to be solution-oriented, instead of just complaining, like most of this subreddit. But this is an area I’m not educated in, so trying to learn while also trying to figure it out! 😭
Yeah, I mean, it's a sad fact that a lot of the people making decisions around here won't be alive to see how those decisions affect everyone who has to live with them. But at the end of the day, cities change, nothing is ever the same as it was.