AUSTIN, Texas — Changes to the names of some Austin area schools could come a little later than expected.
After deciding last fall to rename five Confederate namesake schools, the Austin ISD school board expressed uncertainty in a meeting earlier this month.
The board will make a decision on how to move forward in the beginning of February or the date could be moved to March.
"The board, I think, is really trying to do the right thing, but we are trying to do it in a smart and practical way,” board member Yasmin Wagner said.
Wagner says this decision is too important to rush.
"All the trustees are in agreement with the change, but where I'm hearing some concerns is that we don't feel like we have enough input from the community, even though input has been solicited from the campus communities,” Wagner said.
The board wants to lay out guidelines for deciding which schools need to be renamed, as well as a clear understanding of where the money will come from. Some residents aren't waiting for decisions to be made.
"Engage in dialogue about why it's important to change the names of these schools,” local activist Chas Moore said.
Moore is working with other Austinites and the East Austin Coalition for Quality Education to focus the community's efforts toward changing the school names. Although Moore is passionate about the change, he understands the need for both sides to be heard.
"You want to make sure you give the community as many chances, opportunities to come out and voice their opinion about if they are for renaming or not,” Moore said.
Moore and other members of the work group will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss how they think the board should move forward.
"It doesn't replace history, but it does take away a very symbolic gesture that was placed there decades ago," Wagner said.
For both Wagner and Moore, education on both sides could be the healing gesture that moves the conversation forward. The board will have a work group on Feb. 12. The board can decide how they will move forward or push their decision back again.
There are no public comment periods at this meeting. Residents can have their voices heard at the regular scheduled meeting at the end of the month.