AUSTIN, Texas — Dozens of parents showed up to the first of four meetings hosted by the Austin Independent School District. They’re discussing changes coming to the district over the next few years.
- AISD hosting meetings on school changes
- Looking for parent input
- Several parents voiced their concerns
“We want to make sure that we’re putting students in the best learning spaces as fast as we can. The impact of that…maybe a change of boundaries, it can be a repurposing of the school, it can be potential consolidations,” AISD Superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz said.
Officials say in order to move the district into the 21st century, tough decisions have to be made. Some parents are frustrated.
“My community in Circle C has already in the past 10 years had boundaries changed four times. That affects the kids. That’s unacceptable,” parent Lian Dohn said.
Some parents say closures, consolidations and boundary changes can uproot students who may need specialized attention in their current campuses.
“I’ve got a second grader that has specific reading challenges, some specific needs. She goes to the best school in the district. I want to keep it that way,” Dohn said.
Some believe the city has been granting building permits to developers without thinking of schools.
“You can build a development, and the school is secondary. The school is a secondary thought. C’mon, you’re gonna put down 600, 700, 800 homes? You know the children are gonna come, the parents are gonna come. Plan for the schools,” Dohn said.
For the district, some of these tough calls have little to do with learning spaces themselves, and more to do with student outcomes.
“We are there to make sure we are providing the best learning environments for our children and that’s what these conversations represent, and we’re getting that type of feedback from parents,” Cruz said.
Officials want to collect as much of that feedback as possible before developing an action plan, but Dohn says schools have to come first.
“Plan for the schools like you plan for the police, plan for the schools like you plan for the fire department, plan for the schools like you plan for the city, water, sewer,” Dohn said. “Have it part of the plan, don’t have it be secondary.”