Austin Community Not Standing Silent or without Presenting New Options in the Face of School Closures
By Narissa Johnson
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas A month ago at the first of two Austin Independent School District (AISD) Facility Master Plan Task Force meetings more than 700 community members came out to be heard about the options put forth to counter a projected budget shortfall of $45 million for the coming 2011-2012 school year.
A task force had been convened to design a plan for cutting costs for the district and the resulting options were through various plans that included the potential closure of nine schools throughout the city. The meetings intended to offer the community time to provide feedback about the options put forward before the recommendations are made to the AISD School Board on January 18th. And Wednesday night Austin community members were going to be heard.
While the task force has been working on the plan since the spring final options were shared with the public Monday night approximately 48 hours before the first of the two AISD Facility Master Plan Task Force community meetings. Many parents at Wednesdays meeting were outraged that more time was not being provided to have their voices heard and for other community options to be presented.
Among the criteria the task force used for their recommendations was education enhancement" in which a judgment of whether the educational needs of students were being met. However each option proposes closing schools (eight elementary and one middle school) and all of the elementary schools have a state ranking of recognized or exemplary.
During the communitys opportunity to make comments which started at 6: 40pm as speakers were called upon to speak at random people spoke of their concerns regarding how schools slated for closure were chosen. Some questioned why schools with exemplary state rankings or a rich history in the community were on the list; others asked the task force why are your eyes on the east side" for closure? And most eloquently one woman stated that a communitys schools are the heart of the community and the currently proposed closure plans ignore that.
Near 8:15pm Janie Flores an East Austin community member stepped forward with an alternative option for how AISD could not only offer a quality education to students in East Austin but could also divert existing funds to save other schools in danger of being closed. As President of the
East Austin College Prep Academy (EACPA) Parent Council Ms. Flores presented a proposal in which EACPA would be allowed to lease Eastside Memorial High School from AISD.
Eastside Memorial High School a campus beleaguered for more than a decade with unsatisfactory state rankings sits in the middle of the East Austin neighborhood of Govalle/Johnston Terrace. Ms Flores stated that if the EACPA were to take over all related operational and facilities costs of running the school from AISD EACPA could continue to provide the services it currently provides to the community including a college prep middle school school-based health clinic employment services childcare services cultural arts programs afterschool programs and parental education.
This arrangement could impact the community in two very significant ways:
- AISD would save significant existing funds by not having to operate this underutilized school. The cost savings could then be redirected to help them keep other campuses open and operating.
- It would offer the East Austin community and their children with the type of stable and consistent quality education that prepares them for successful futures in particular to attend and graduate in college.
In the end when the meeting adjourned around 8:40pm the task force had heard from others in support of this East Austin College Prep option and the impact it may have on the other schools.
The task force members did not have an easy evening listening to the pleas arguments reasoning and concerns of parents. But in the end another option was presented that may help both the East Austin community and the rest of the city. And provide our citys students with what they all deserve a quality education.
Narissa Johnson is the External Communications Manager at Southwest Key Programs in East Austin Texas.
