Several concerned parents speak out against the Austin school district’s plan to redraw school boundaries at a public meeting outreach meeting where the district is looking for ideas of what to do about shuttered schools and district buildings.
AISD Mom Caroline Kazmierski said the district spent a lot of time at last night’s Community Visioning Session telling parents the Reinvention Planning map released last month separating the district into five different areas were not part of a plan to redistrict schools. “But as any parent right, you see your neighborhood, with a big circle around it when its not in you current vertical team (the line of school students go through), that is cause for concern. ” Fellow AISD mom, Kristi English said she is still a bit leery to the district’s reasoning’s behind the maps.
District officials explained the controversial maps that caused an uproar from parents were made out of a need for organization as the district moves forward on plans that include the possibility of closing schools and district buildings.
Kazmierski said she and some of her neighbors have formed a parent group wanting more clarity around the district’s use of the maps.
School board Trustee Yasmin Wagner said the meetings are about catching people up so they could start making informed decisions about what can and should be done about shuttered schools. Some believe the meetings are an opportunity for the district, parents and residents to look into new programs to better attract families to underenrolled and under performing schools.
But others like AISD Mom Tina Walker whose worried her son’s school Joslin Elementary will get shut down.were not impressed with that idea, “I don’t think one program that’s going to shake people from going into charter schools or you know leaving and moving to the suburbs . I think its going to be a complete revamp of what our public school system looks like.”
There are 6 more Community Visioning Sessions the next is this evening at Burnet Middle School from 5:30 to 7:30.
- June 5th 5:30–7:30 p.m.Burnet Middle School, 8401 Hathaway Drive
- June 6th 5:30–7:30 p.m.Akins High School, 10701 S. First St.
- June 8th 10 a.m.–noonEastside Memorial Early College High School, 1012 Arthur Stiles Road
- District wide meeting June 6th 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.O. Henry Middle School, 2610 W. 10th St.
- June 11th 5:30–7:30 p.m.Bertha Sadler Means YWLA, 6401 N. Hampton Drive
- June 12th 5:30–7:30 p.m.Pease Elementary School, 1106 Rio Grande St.
(Photo:Shutterstock/Kristen Prahl)
