Low enrollment is forcing Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District leaders to make some tough decisions.

Two schools are now at risk of shutting down. The district says over the past six years fewer students have enrolled.

The two elementary schools seeing the sharpest decrease are Thomas Jefferson Elementary and Crockett Elementary School.

The district hasn't made a final decision on which schools will close, that's why they held a meeting with parents on Friday to talk about options.

One mom who spoke with Channel 5 News says her daughter will struggle if they close her school.

"It's also, what about the kids? What about my daughter who has special needs? That's my biggest, biggest, biggest thing right now," Priscilla Melendez said.

Melendez has three girls who attend both Crockett and Jefferson Elementary Schools.

"My two other ones, they can transition fine. My main thing is my daughter who has special needs. How is she going to transition? Because we've already dealt with transitioning from one age group to another and it was rough," Melendez said.

She says consistency is important for her daughter with special needs.

Melendez also attended Crockett Elementary as a child. She worries closing it will get rid of an emotional connection.

"I'm giving memories to my daughter, sharing a part of my life. So that's why it hurts me," Melendez said.

The district is still discussing the plans with parents.

Harlingen CISD Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Tanya Garza says low enrollment is behind the district's decision.

"This is a very hard message. This is not something that comes easy to anyone," Garza said.

The school district says that Crockett Elementary only has 230 students enrolled, which makes it 370 students short of full enrollment.

Less than a mile away is Zavala Elementary, which has 304 students currently enrolled and the campus has the capacity for 600 students. The plan is to combine both of these schools.

Altogether, Zavala Elementary would see an enrollment of 530 students with a capacity of 600.

A study by the school district found Jefferson and Crocket Elementary had the sharpest drop in enrollment. 

Zavala Elementary would combine with Crockett Elementary to create a STEM-focused school.

Jefferson Elementary currently has 260 students enrolled. Lamar Elementary has just under 400 students enrolled and the campus has the capacity for 800 students.

Jefferson Elementary would merge with Lamar Elementary to create a fine arts academy.

Harlingen CISD has created a Transition Committee for all four affected schools to help create a vision for all campuses.

"The need of students wanting to attend [Lee H. Means Elementary Fine Arts Academy] means it's showing us that we needed to invest and provide that opportunity of the fine arts academy. We have reached capacity at Lee Means," Garza said.

Garza says they plan to keep all staff, but their assignments are still being discussed. She said she understands Melendez's concerns and wants to make this a seamless transition for students.

"Currently, we do have some campuses that have different units for our special needs students and the plan is how are we going to continue to service them? And so, when we are looking at that, we are working with our director for special education," Garza said.

Melendez wants other parents to come to these meetings and share their opinions.

"That's why I'm really adamant we're not going to do this. We have to stop this," Melendez said.

If the plans do go through, Jefferson and Crockett will be turned into other facilities. One would become a Head Start and the other will be a resource center for parents.

The district is hearing from parents before presenting the plan to the board in April.

There will be two meetings scheduled for Monday, Feb. 23. They will be held at Zavala Elementary at 5 p.m. and Lamar Elementary at 6:30 p.m.

Watch the video above for the full story.