CCISD trustees postpone Port O’Connor closure, Seadrift grade merger after public opposition

The Calhoun County Independent School District Board of Trustees voted June 15 to indefinitely postpone the proposed closure of Port O’Connor Elementary School and the merger of Seadrift School's seventh- and eighth-grade classes with Travis Middle School after hearing nearly two hours of public opposition to the measures.

The vote came after nearly two hours of public comment during a public hearing and the board meeting, as residents of Port O’Connor and Seadrift criticized the proposals. Originally scheduled to be held in the CCISD Administration Building boardroom, the hearing and meeting were moved to the HJM Elementary School cafeteria to accommodate the large crowd in attendance. Trustees also expressed concern that the recommendations had been presented only seven days earlier, leaving insufficient time to fully evaluate their potential educational, financial and community impacts. District officials had presented the measures as part of efforts to address an estimated $4 million deficit in the district's 2026-27 budget.

Trustees voted 5-2 on both measures to indefinitely postpone the closure and merger. Trustees Dana Dworaczyk, Vinson Phillips, Tyler McAfee, Michael Williams and Cynthia Alford voted in favor of postponement.

“Right or wrong, seven days is not enough to make a decision of this magnitude,” McAfee said.

Alford said she was not prepared to support the recommendations without additional information.

“I appreciate the work that has gone into addressing the district’s budget challenges. However, I am not prepared to support these recommendations at this time because I do not believe the board has been provided sufficient information to make a fully informed decision,” Alford said. “Before taking actions of this magnitude, I would want the board to understand the educational, financial and community impacts.”

Trustees Bill Shrader and Brian Batts voted against postponing the measures.

Following the vote, Shrader warned the district could face difficult financial decisions in the future.

“The extreme measure that could occur with this — and one that none of this board wants to see — is the reduction of staff and layoffs of teachers,” Shrader said. “I just want to remind the board members that's a possibility we'll have to work to avoid as we work ourselves out of this deficit.”

Shrader also expressed concern about the district’s long-term financial outlook.

“If you look at the chart, by 2030 we'll be out of money, and if we don't do something, the  TEA [Texas Education Agency] will take this district over and we'll be just like the districts in Houston, Fort Worth and Dallas and those bigger school districts that haven't been financially handling their money appropriately,” he said.

For more information about the board, visit calcoisd.org. The board's next meeting is scheduled for July 20.