001Good afternoon, I am one of the interpreters. If anyone needs interpretation into Spanish, come with us. Here we have headphones for you to listen to the presentation entirely in Spanish. Thank you so much. If you could write down your name and phone number, please. Let's begin. Welcome. My name is [name], I am the director here in Palm. [applause] [ovation] Thank you all for being here. I know it's difficult to come here after classes. I would like to welcome you. Just a few reminders before we begin. We have childcare. Hey, Miss Anderson, Miss Gomez. Hey, they have games there, they have music, they have snacks. So, if they want their children to go to daycare, they can take them there. And we also have restrooms here on the right , they're open. So, if you need
002to go, please, you can go ahead. And now let's begin. Um, I want to welcome you and I'm going to give the floor to Superintendent Matias who is here to answer our questions and we have 90 minutes for this meeting. So, Miss Ali is going to speak now. Thank you very much, director. Uh, hi, my name is Ali Guilarducci and I'm the director of communications and community engagement. This is our agenda. Okay, we're going to talk about the board's rules, and then we're going to have the opportunity for the people here to answer questions, and I want everyone to familiarize themselves with the plan we have and the reason why we're making these decisions and having these conversations. And we want to be able to answer some of the questions you have here in person
003and also through the comment cards. Okay, so we're going to start answering that before we move on to the in-person questions, and then we'll talk about the next steps, and that's it. As for the rules, ah, we're here to acknowledge the difficulties we 're having with all of this. Ah, we want stronger and more equitable schools, and we're going to ask you to try to limit your comments to one minute so that everyone who wants to participate can do so. We want to respect the process of following the agenda so that we can hear from everyone, and we may disagree with certain ideas, but we want to maintain a positive intention. Ah, because we want to create schools that are solid and have sufficient resources for all students. Ah, if anyone wants to talk, let
004them all and they've already spoken once. Oh, please, wait for other people to speak first. Oh, and we're here to embrace transparency and empathy. These are difficult conversations. Oh, and we're going to face them with compassion and honesty. The purpose of today's meeting, uh, is to answer some of those frequently asked questions you may have about our plan, and we want to know what things you're proposing and why. And as the leadership team, we want to hear your ideas to refine the plan we have, and we'll have an edited version of that plan. Uh, and then we can use all those comments that you've left us in person and through the feedback card. And now we're going to ask the superintendent to say a few words. Thanks, Ali. I am very grateful that you all
005came this afternoon and that we are having this conversation. As Ali said, this is a draft of the plan and it's really important that our community gives us their feedback before we take the next step. And I also want to acknowledge how difficult this is. Ah, these are very difficult changes, they are sad and I want to apologize that we have to go through this. Never is something I never thought I would have to do as superintendent and it's not something I want to do. The reality is that in Austin ISD we have some schools, and we have certain strong schools in East Austin, but the truth is that we don't have strong schools everywhere. And in those 144 years that have led us to where we are, we have made decision after decision and
006in the end the students have not received what they needed to succeed. The board and I are on the same page that all students should have what they need. And each student has different needs. But to do that we need to think about how we work, what resources we have, and be honest about what has changed. And we have to do all of that right now with public education facing challenges from all sides. So, what we want is to have strong neighborhood schools that all students have access to. What we want is for students to love learning, not just to be good at taking a test. We want students to feel comfortable in their own skin. We want students to feel that being multicultural is a superpower, and to do that we need resources in
007every school. So, this plan we have addresses all of that in a very complex way and with several levels. The first thing is that it tries to align the remission patterns. And when I talk about that, what I want is for elementary school students to not go to more than one or two high schools in order to keep the community together. and that high school students then go to no more than one or two preparatory schools. Right now in Austin we have middle schools that go to four or five high schools. Can you guess where those schools are? They are in East Austin. We also have many schools that go 100% to their middle or high school. Can you guess where those schools are? So, this plan is intended to realign all referral patterns across
008Austin. And ultimately we want to keep communities together, we want to align programs, and if we do that we think we'll be in a better position in the long run. And number two, the cost of education has increased year after year, and in recent years the State has not helped us in the way I think they should have. Ah, changes at the federal level have affected title one, title two, and title three funds. We have to pay the teachers so they can live in this community, and we're going to keep doing it. But as we do that, it puts pressure on the system because everything costs money. So, to be more efficient, we need to see where our system is misaligned, and that's why we're making consolidations and changes to the boundaries. Three. eh alignment
009of programs. Dual language is something we believe in here in Austin. There are school districts all over Central Texas that are n't doing it, but we want to. But to do it right, we have to make sure that the programs for which the students were designed are there. And right now we have programs that are not balanced, we have to move the programs, to where the students are. The other thing we have to consider is that we are in a state accountability system that is much larger than our school district. I would never, ever, ever say that these letters they are putting on our schools determine who our schools are. They are the ones who assign those fs and ds uh uh based on a single test that has been taken on a single day
010in most cases. And the reality is that I have to guarantee that we as a system overcome that and break those chains of responsibility. And if we don't, if we do n't address that real risk that comes with responsibility, we could potentially lose the ability to educate our students in the way we believe is right. The members of its board of directors determine the direction we are going in. They are elected locally. So this plan also has to take into account that liability risk that exists in the TinD. If we don't change the system, at some point this district is going to look very different, and I'm not going to let that happen. The other thing included in this plan is changes to the transfer rules. In Austin, there have been many rules that have
011been in place for decades that allow a student to move from one part of the city to another. Transfers have been controlled by the schools because that creates fairness. Why do we have so many students who live in East Austin who then want to go to Austin High School? This plan is taking all of this into account, and we're going to have those conversations with you to move forward as a school system, because one of the things we can't do is fail to recognize this real risk that exists in our school system. Because what I don't want to take away from our staff or our families is the right to choose. I'm going to make those tough decisions, but I do n't want to be more disruptive than I need to be. So, these are
012the things that are going to happen in Palm. Ah, Palm Elementary, I know it has an amazing principal. Ah, everyone does amazing things. Ah, they have performed better each year, but the reality is that there are not enough students living here now. All the students in this area, all those who come to Palm, we still couldn't fill this school. So, if we think as a system, how can we balance it? Ah, this plan includes Palm Elementary [clears throat] going all to Perez. And the reason that's important is because when we can keep the whole community together, we want to. We don't want to separate Palm School, we don't want to send them to different schools and separate them into several schools. The other thing I want to point out, and we'll talk more about that
013in a moment, is the staffing. I want our community to know that whatever the transition, I have promised time and time again that everyone working at TinD will have a home. There have been some messages out there saying that they are going to lose their jobs. That's not true. As we proceed, it may be that we don't have as much flexibility. Uh, but we're going to have these conversations with the staff, but I want the community to know that I recognize that the only reason I exist is to support educators. That's all. Ah, this is the plan we're going to talk about here. Ah, this will be implemented next school year. So, we have the entire spring semester to plan, to work with both school communities, and then we'll implement it on the November vote.
014We wanted to hear from all of you, to have a conversation about how we should consider our buildings, our schools in general. So we have some of the questions that were given to us in advance, starting with Ricardo. The school is an inhabited part of our community, and closing it would disrupt students, break important relationships with teachers, and create more difficult, longer commutes. The district has explored other options and may delay this decision. Well, we've had many options over the last few months, many months, a plan, and the reality is that we simply do n't have the resources we need here. So, to stabilize our community, we need to have an area large enough to fill the school, so that we can focus all our resources here. It may be delayed, it could be delayed,
015but I'm not going to, I'm not going to put that in and this is the reason. I'm not going to put it on. We are facing a budget deficit. We are taking some transition risks, liability risks, all of which cost resources. It really does . So let's do all this together. This strategy must be an all-in-one approach . so that they form a complete system and take all the steps together. So, if any of these are removed, it means that the risk for next year will increase, because I'm not going to propose a plan of change for the spring and we'll talk about that. If we do something in the spring, it will be more difficult for our staff who have relied on it. Our family will not have everything it needs to prepare for
016the rest of the year. We already saw what happened to Martin in sixth grade halfway through . They left in April in Martin. Schools and families were all in disarray, and they had two and a half months to really get us back together and put everything back together, and it never really worked. So I don't want to fail and do something that's not in alignment with all of you. So my strategy, my approach is to take one vote together in November, we have time to plan it. If there is a delay, it's forward by a year, and at that point, all the other things we're trying to avoid in terms of risk are coming to the surface. That's why we 're not looking at delaying this at the moment. The next question is from the
017manager. If Palm closes, Dan would continue to reside at his current location and the R students would continue to attend classes on laptops located at Palm, while the Palm building is vacant. So, if this is one of those transition questions that we're going to encounter, then I can tell you that if Palm were to close in the 2027 school year and the building were vacant, we would look at whether there was an opportunity to reduce the cost of keeping LANF on laptops, because that also has a cost. So any way we collectively lower our costs is always good; it's better to try to use buildings instead of laptops. So I can see this, all this is possible, whether it's Lford or Palm or laptops, but I can't say that we would be seeing an interim
018space solution, as long as it lowers the cost. So, this would be a bad service for these laptops that are [clears throat] right outside the school building. Once again, I don't know how we're going to be doing. The next question is from Ret. Have you considered combining Luar and Palm? And what is the thought process behind closing or reassigning Palm to Pérez and not Blazer? And why did the district choose to close Palm instead of changing the boundaries from Blazer to Palm? Okay, so we've seen Palm and Langford, and one of the things I want to mention and that I want you to know is that he's, let's say, halfway there . When we look at the limits, we have to see exactly where they are. So, as you can see, this is Perez, this
019is Palm. And this is Lford. So, in order to connect the two, we would have to create this very strange shape or we would have to create a broken or divided boundary zone, which is what we do n't want to do. So, once again looking at the logistics, the preferred approach is to join two adjacent boundaries or together. We were able to see all this and I'm going to tell you that the amphitheater is relatively full, so we wouldn't be able to relocate all of Pum. And one of the things we feel very strong about is that we want to create a safe and secure space. I think that's one of the trade-offs we had to make. The school is a little further away, but we want to know that the community will be a
020very small percentage that would have to be affected in that way. The other question was Blazer. So, Blazer is to the south and these schools are on the Austin shore and Palm is not far from Blazer. Blazer is just south of here. So, we can't change Blazer's attendance limits because the school is in the nearby area that includes the area. Therefore, we cannot include a school that is not within the attendance limits. So, Blazer is here. Blazer is here just to the south, but Blazer goes all the way south, all the way to Cris. So if P were to move just a little bit for six or seven blocks, it would start to be within the attendance limits, it would start to consume the BL area. So, we can't do that. The school must be
021within the limits of attendance. So, this is simply a function of the locations, the maps that were made years and years ago. So, there really isn't a solution because we have a boundary with the east, basically with Del Valle. Yes, thanks. Oh, so I just wanted to add that when we look at the schools and we look at the boundaries, we start preparing and seeing where our students live and we want to make sure that they are okay. So, when we looked at this group, this area, we saw the boundaries, we have between six and seven schools. with more than 5000 issues with only 3600 students. So, we have to see what capacity we have in the schools that were accommodated and then what will be a healthy thing. So, where do we begin? Then
022we look at those locations where our schools are and where our students live and we see how many seats are available. [cough] And I think a question of and then is being developed. So it's simply this pressure being exerted by its limits. There are some questions here. I was here with the first meeting in P. Then the children were there. My question is, I've seen them sonify the other area. So I don't understand the justification for us being able to send children from Palm. I live on a street, a few blocks from Palm. Blazer is right next door. Why can't we go north of Blazer and east of Blazer and take you and send you towards Plaughter Lane is still our limit. So in 5 years we'll have Blazer, which will already be full and
023they'll be using the buses by then . And what are they going to do at that moment? Five years will be a different school. So, if we saw that, [applause] then remember, the whole school is visible. The question is, how are we going to get closer to where we want to end up? So, my understanding is that we're going to see how it's going to work. We'll have to go into Blazer's pretty deep limit. I am very familiar with this area. I can provide that data, but when we saw it, it was a very definite number because much of that area is quite large, so there are many open spaces. One has to go down in order to raise a number of students and be able to raise the number. So, we really need to
024get up to hundreds of students, which is what we 're thinking about, but we'll gladly look at that and see that in more depth. I wanted to talk a little bit about that comment about projection. We are making 10-year projections with developers, builders, and others. We are looking at a 10-year approach and we all have these projections and we will be able to see those projections up to that point and there are some policies that have already been honored and established and how that is being used. I'm going to go back and forth so that the questions that are there are because they are questions prior to this and I hope this is really okay. So, nobody is arguing that CL isn't doing well, what we're saying is that you're saying they can't see those
025children because many of those children are being pulled by the limit of the blazer. We can't take children out of Blazure, can we ? We don't want the bread boundary to go so far south that it's going around Blazer. But what we do want, [snort] I don't know if that's fair. So they're telling us that when he thinks about it, Blazer might enter this building because he could die. And then you're seeing parents who live here walking past the school, passing by what used to be their original school, Pérez and others, when it's just that some of those kids from Blazer come here, but because they do n't want to mess around, they don't want to bother the... That's not true. That's not true. [snort] Let's look at all the solutions. No, no, it's not
026just because I don't want to do that. What is a sufficiently large area where I can bring the student population for the next 10 years that can be supported? So, the community here is saying that the Blazer community has exploded, and that's why you're building another school, and we've gone downhill, especially after the flood that took away so many homes. So, if we had obtained any of those families from the beginning, then there's no reason why we couldn't have those children coming here. It's easier for the children to come from school over there than for the bread children to go all the way over there. Most of our dads walk too, so I don't understand. So when I'm sitting here when you say that, then that's not really what I heard. So I don't understand
027why we can't do that. [applause] I think what we want to see is the question, right? A couple of students fail to solve the problem. It has to be a large area. It's not just about who lives there. [snort] Ah, we need to see the projections. We did an analysis of how much area we had to cover and we're trying to move away from that, right? And that's why we're in this situation right now, because in recent years we've added this school, we've jumped this area over here, so I don't want to just do what other people have done if it doesn't make sense for our community. Now, let's say we have space and we could make it work. I'm trying to see how we can make adjustments to support the needs and overcome the
028pressure we're under right now. But I don't want to create the expectation that, oh, we're going to use Blazer, which is right here, and that's going to solve all the problems. And I appreciate your comment about the limits because we've heard that from other schools. There is no regular review process. Austin simply wants to change drastically, but I think this is our first strategy. We do n't want to be in the situation we 've been in for the last few decades. We want to do a process, uh, uh, nothing more, because they are expanding a lot. We don't want to do the same thing that happened to Leander and other districts. So, the next question is, is the traffic on William Canon a cause for concern? Could you explain if transportation will be provided to
029students changing school zones? Our transport policy will remain the same. If you live more than 2 miles from the school you have to attend, you will need transportation. Or if the route is deemed dangerous, we will also provide a bus for that student. Oh, sorry, I'm going to ask a question. So, you are going to have a bus, I like it? I am a mom who moves. How is that going to work for our children? How is that going to work, huh, regarding the transfers? That's one of the things we 're addressing as part of this update to our plan, to be very clear, because we want families who have moved to the school, if they're already used to coming to this school, to be able to continue. So, that's one of the things that
030wasn't clear in the initial draft, and it wasn't clear because there were so many hypothetical situations that we had to work through. Ah, but in the new version we're going to have a whole document that says about the transfer rules and students who have transferred to a school will be kept with the entire school's curriculum. So, if your child comes to Palm right now and the whole group goes to Perez, you'll be able to go to Perez automatically. Does it make sense? That's what we 're trying to do now, because those things are not consistent with our values. Oh, and then , correct me if I'm wrong. Why can't we combine Langford with Palm? No, it wouldn't fit when you say combine. I was wondering if here or Palm doesn't fit within Lford because Langford,
031but Pérez has the same number of students. Each school has a different capacity. Not all schools are the same size, nor can they admit the same number of students, as Blazer and Lford are very different. So, we need to think about how many students they have right now and how many students can be safely accommodated to support those programs. So, looking at it from that perspective, I don't remember exactly the capacity of each school, but each school has a different capacity. And I also want to know if there are teachers who have lots of students, if there are teachers who have more than 20 students in their class. So, I just want to know, they keep talking about budget and budget and budget. What I would like to say is that 22 students is the
032maximum they can have. It 's the 22nd. I want to explain how the budget affects us. Ah, we don't have educators in our classrooms where we need them. We have vacancies, we need to support students with intervention specialists, content specialists, so that all children have everything they need in line with our values. So what I'm saying is that the budget is a big part of this, but it's not the reason why we make all the decisions. The reason we exist is to provide everything the classes need. But if I don't have the resources, then all our students, all our schools are not going to succeed. And right now the federal government has lost millions of dollars, the cost of education has increased. We lost 100, we've lost so much money and we've tried to recover
033money in recent years, but we're deciding to keep certain things in our schools. We have decided to have things that the State does not necessarily require. Ah, we could have a different curriculum and save ourselves 6 or 7 million dollars, but if the curriculum is not in line with our values, we don't want it. So, it's not that I'm only thinking about it from a financial perspective, but the reality is that if we can't have a balanced budget, the risk of the agency not taking power is real. And this question can really make a difference. How will the closure of three schools affect the district's enrollment and overall resources? One of the things we hear from time to time is, " Oh, if you close the schools, they're going to lose students." Another thing I
034see is that right now we have schools that are not the school of choice for the neighborhood children. So, we have areas in Austin where there are a lot of students. Much of it is about many families feeling that the charter schools or the other school in the other neighborhood is better. So, what I want is to get to the point where all schools perform well and we have the resources to do it, to achieve it. I ca n't have 116 schools with the budget we have, and another pressure is enrollment. Our enrollment has decreased, decreased in recent years, and the problem is that there are families who cannot afford, cannot afford the cost of living in Austin, and we have seen that over the last 10 years. So, that's the problem: we 're not
035receiving state funding. So, if we're going to do something right and have stronger schools, we need to have fewer schools. That's the truth. Um, to get back to the topic of transportation, there are several families in the community who have disabilities and who need special buses. Currently there are no buses for those students to get to Pérez and we would have to drop our students off at 6 in the morning to be able to get to work on time or I would have to find another job. Ah, so what's the solution to that? The first thing I would say is that right now there is still no bus route because this plan has not yet been implemented until the schools are combined . Uh, but as has been said, if it's more than 2 miles
036away, it will automatically have a bus. So, I think that will resolve itself when the plan is implemented. We didn't explicitly state that in the first draft because it's part of our rules, okay? Oh, and the other thing is that it's useful if we understand that this community needs a different level of support. We, the district, can make those changes. We have families all over the city. We have 20,000 students who use our buses. Some schools open very early. Ah, we have students who come very early in the morning because their families work. But I need to know what needs to change in the mindset or in the system of the new school in order to be able to support you. That's the kind of thing I need to know to help them with the
037transition plan. And I am willing to do things differently to support our students. So, ah, on Friday we're going to have the framework for the transition, you're going to see all the things. We'll be working on these, how they're going, what's going to happen with the PTAS, oh, what are we going to do to honor the school's legacy? All those things. And yes, there are programs that need to be there right now. Oh, and we always provide transportation for special education students . Ah, so if that's the case, you can rest assured that we will provide that transportation because it's a separate system, uh, it's not related to state or federal regulations. So, students with special needs always have transportation. And then there are also several commenters who mentioned this question. She says, "Our students
038receiving special education services are excelling and improving. What considerations are you taking into account for students receiving special education services ? Hi, my name is Kristen, and I'm the executive director of special education, and we certainly want our students to continue to improve. And the good news is that Pérez has a very strong special education program. They have a lot of support and services. So, I don't think there will be any disruption in services, and that will be able to continue. In the plan, we also have a separate document that describes the special education services and what students can expect during the transition. If there are any services that don't exist at that school, we'll specify what's in the plan. But the special education support and allocated resources, that comes from the Department of Special
039Education. Because we allocate resources based on need. So , that's why it's important to talk about all of this. I want to go back to Lford. I was passing by Lford, and there isn't a building there right now." And you were saying that Langford and Palm together here is n't possible, but before the floods, we were together. We used to have all those students here together. So, I don't understand why, if they sell that property and build a solid school here, right? We're talking about this, right? [snort] So, no, it wasn't that long ago, but what I'm going to say is that with all the projects we've seen and all those things, modernizing the facilities, that's something we're committed to continuing to move forward, and we're not going to say that all of that plays
040a role in all of this. So, we couldn't do it that way; it wouldn't have been intentional. Well, what happened to all of that? So, the way the bond is used for all the work, the bond dollars can be reauthorized by the board of trustees. All the projects that are tied to Palm Elementary. So, I'm going to tell everyone, and all the students want to make sure in all the buildings that there's water and that the air conditioning is working. So, many times we knew—I didn't know—that the state offered support. So, Throughout this time, we want our children to feel safe, supported, and have a good learning environment. So, what we did was work with the building oversight committee . So, if the students see Pérez, then what's happening at Pérez? What can be removed?
041What can be added, and so on. And then, in some cases, in some cases where the facilities are being relocated, the question is, can they be moved to another school, or can they be moved later to high school or preparatory school? And then, as long as the equipment is maintained vertically so that all students experience that investment throughout their school years, I would simply give the recommendation of how this works. The next question is from Tania B, but I think, well, let's ask your question. My name is Antonio Vázquez, and I have a fifth-grade student at Palm. So, I'm glad that question came up because it's next to another question I have, but according to your rubric, we were given a three. So, seeing that three, how did we get voted out of a school?
042That goes to be closed, and let's say the school closes. What happens after that? So, are they going to sell it, and if so, how much is the district going to get ? The rubric, as I mentioned during the process, was never going to be a list of schools to close. It never was. We said that time and time again. We wanted to see that our system wasn't aligned . There are schools at the top of that list that are going to be consolidated in these ways. So it impacted all the schools. That's why it was n't that they voted for it because it was P; it was looking region by region in our school system to see the overall goals of the plan, which is what made sense. We have a lot of open
043seats in this part of Austin, and we do n't want to do this. So, when we confronted them, at no point along the way did we make a conscious decision that we're going to close this school because it's more or less valuable. This was never part of the process. So, what we do in this process is how the community has been. So, since the 2019 bond, how has the community space been, and other Things? How did they look? And then we were able to close the loop and we said, this is the process we're probably going to go through. It's not going to happen without everyone's input. If we don't have input from the entire community, it's not going to happen. I would say it does have to be balanced because I want it to
044be something that's open and transparent. Well, this is fine, but there are a lot of opportunities that we can really explore. How can we get back to families, to our schools? That would be really great. So, with these processes, I'm simply taking the lead from the community. Sometimes they want to do things faster, sometimes they want to do them slower. We want to make sure that students are enrolled, that they're incorporated. That's what we saw. So, the conversation was around housing. So, we're trying to address the need for more living space, and there are about 600 units that are currently being built, and at some point, value is taken into account, or something like that, to be considered in the process. Oh, the question is, will the school board consider pausing the panorama closure to
045allow the community time to collaborate and explore solutions that can increase the number of enrolled students and better serve our students. So, I want to make sure everyone understands that the most important thing is that the administration makes a recommendation, and we're going to present that recommendation to the board, and the board has to make recommendations, and they'll have to make some adjustments in different areas. So, a question really for our board, I think we can ask why, because we need this. Yes. So, I would simply say that we can use a lot of resources, but if the schools aren't within the limits, they're going to be able to see. So, we're going to be able to see what we want to see. I've been working on this a lot for some time now. How
046can we help the whole system? So, I'll tell the board, they could make a little more space, they could wait another year or two, and then we can be like this. So, the things they've been doing, so we're much more than 30% full. It did n't have much to do with the flooding in 2019, but there are things that are not under our control. So, I'm trying to do what as best we can and establish all the opportunities that are in front of us to avoid the risk of this closing. We have a question in Spanish. My question is, good afternoon. Yas will be with us. Are they planning to close? I'm also thinking about closing Win, and it's another school that's very close to us. I'm realizing that they're going to close Widen. It's
047a school very close to us, and there are reasons why they want to close our school because we have few students. I've considered moving the students from WID to Palm . We've considered giving the students from Win to Palm. So, we haven't seen the student numbers from Wil to Palm because of the limit issue I was mentioning. And so what I can say is that each one is a very different situation, and Widen has been in school for multiple years, three, without having achieved the necessary accountability. I mean, it has a series of Ds or FS that now require us, AustinD, to develop a plan that the State has to approve. So, to do that, there are certain things that need to be done. Where are the schools going to go? It has to be
048a school that is If things are going well, then P could qualify. Number two, the systems put in place in the schools have to meet the plan, and that may include some teachers being required to have a certain number of years of experience. This could also be clearly articulated and defined in the processes throughout the school year. So it's going to be much tighter, and what we're going to have to do is, when most of the Wid Ban shelves are in place, that's where that transformation plan is going to be . Then they go north to Houston and south to Rodriguez. So we've already thought about this and everything. Not everyone was the same; that's why Win is structured this way. I'd gladly see if there's an opportunity, but I don't think it's an opportunity
049for everyone, but I'd gladly look at it again . One question here. I'm the teacher here, and I noticed that no one has mentioned the problem with all the Yura construction. What are they going to do if all our students are in Perez and our parents can't get there when it floods again? And that was a problem. We couldn't get our students out of there to go to the other side of the creek and cross. So, that It's going to happen again. And what are we going to do? I'm very familiar with that, the floods, and the sequence of events that occurred at that time, and that's a very valid concern. It's a very valid concern. So, for us, we want that transition planning because if they go to another school, then the families will
050still want our students at Pérez. So, for us, it's much bigger than just one school. So, how can we support all our families in an emergency response? So, we went through all of that. I do n't have the specific documents because it's been a while since we discussed all of this, and it's one of the things we did together. It has to be articulated, communicated, and shared with the entire community. So, if something is going to be done, it's something we have to do. So, we're going to receive the plan you're talking about before November. Most of the parents here, and the other parents... Our problem isn't going to another school. So, as you're saying, we can go to our school for our children. We can go, but not always, as long as it's something
051good for our school. So, the thing is The location, more than anything. Many of our children have PTSD from what happened. My children were in water almost up to their knees. I had to pull my children out of the mud, and that was right in front of that creek. So, again, they're not going to give us the plan before November. They're going to give us the plan after they've made their decision because then they'll have made the plan without taking us into consideration. What I would say is that we can't make the plan unless we have time to talk with all of you here. I'm not saying you don't have a chance, and your lived experiences help me understand what's needed so we can respond properly. We haven't taken the vote, so I know the
052community has this plan, and we can all plan together, but we haven't reached a point where we can just do it because we're still in the process. But what I can do is, based on all the adjustments and the Creek Watch, I want to acknowledge the trauma that occurred in that space, in that It's important to have a response plan, but there's nothing I can say that will guarantee this won't happen again. So, I mean, if this happens again , Austin, tell me, what are you going to do? How are you going to respond to what happened between 2013 and 2015? I can't say I can't guarantee it won't happen again . That's why I'm not saying we're not going to do it. I can elaborate on that and answer your questions, but as for
053a detailed plan of how this community will operate, I have to ask Pérez. I ca n't present a completely clean situation. So, what I think we're going to do is what we're considering. This is what the community said, this is what was recommended by the board and the superintendent, and it's all the work that's been done, and we're putting it on the table. So, this is how we're going to operate, and I apologize, but that's the best that can be presented. to be done in spaces. Then I could do a report. I'm going to ask that we go in order because there are people who have been waiting to comment. Uh, hi, I'm Karen Hot. Oh, and I was here when we did n't have the laptops yet. Oh, but it's going to be built
054in Langford. And when are they proposing that be done? Because originally it was going to be built, but it was going to take two and a half years. Oh, but then, when are they proposing? Have they already started? Oh, yes, we went there and there's nothing there. When we say it's started, just so we understand, there's a lot that has to happen before we see the structure on the ground, but they have started the construction process. Oh, it's an active construction site, or because, well, no, if we want to keep the whole Palma community together. Oh, why are some kids from Pérez going to Langford and Houston? Thank you for that question. If you look at the boundaries of Langford, well, they're trying to balance enrollment in the schools, and you're going to see, well,
055certain, certain Additions to the attendance areas. I'm going to try as much as possible to keep all the schools together, but... I don't want to, we ca n't keep all the communities together because we wouldn't be able to balance enrollment. That's the truth. So, we've been refining the plans, making adjustments. We could probably make it all fit , etc., but if we hear from the Pérez community, that this is a concern in Pérez, we can make certain adjustments, or also add a separation in middle or high school. I have a child in Palm. And my question is, when you drive around there, there are new apartments. So why can't the boundaries be adjusted to include those areas, those zip codes? The first thing I want to say is that when we're talking about boundary changes
056between Palm and Blazer and the difficulties we've had, it's very far north and Palm is very far south. So, the Palm boundary would include Blazer Elementary. Now I want to see what opportunities exist, but we would have to move hundreds of children to rebalance the Schools. I'm open to exploring it, but I know Bedicheck well. This is a very difficult situation because between Covington, Méndez, Paredes, Henry Lively, and Bedicheck, Bedicheck also has three schools under its jurisdiction. So, we have to break that chain. There's a real risk of state intervention, and they could take control of the board . That already happened in Fort Worth, and we're committed to having a presence and rethinking what Bedicheck is and recognizing that any plan we have, we can consider that, but I can't do it without some
057kind of change because right now the pressure is the risk of that responsibility. So, I would never want to affect families in this way. I want to support everyone with the transition. I know many of those children will go to Covington, some to Paredes, and some to Lively, but then there are other schools that also have three schools under their jurisdiction. One of the things we're looking at is where they're going and what changes need to happen there. But what I can say is that the state of Texas You have to accept our plans. Ah, recently, this school year has been different than the last. So, the transformation plan is similar to Palm, which is south of the district. But the reason Bedicheck works is because it has many schools around it. Um, then there's
058Mendez to the north and Bedichec to the west, and well, it doesn't work, I mean, it's too much. So, the only reason Bedicheck is the school is because it's surrounded by other schools. So, all of this comes into play. I know it's not what you want to hear, but if I try to do it another way, it does n't work. I want to know, have you counted how many children are going to lose? Mine is in fifth grade. Ah, after that, he probably won't go to a public school anymore, but to a charter school. Um, I don't want him to go. Have you thought about that? We've thought about a lot of things. Ah, because we've all been doing an excellent job here. You all have done an excellent job, but why aren't we there
059from the state's perspective? If we put in all the resources, everything we need, and we haven't seen Growth— let me, please let me finish my thought. Um, we're at the point where all of our schools need the resources they need to succeed. Whether you're in Palm Springs, Blackshier, wherever you are. My position is, if we have those resources and we have great teachers and students and the culture and climate of everything— I know families want the best for their students— but we also have to understand that there are going to be transitions. I don't want to make them, but I can't say that it's going to be this percentage or this percentage. Other districts have done consolidations in Texas and have seen a small change in enrollment. But I don't know how to respond to
060that. Why does it take three years for you to do something about it? You're talking about EASD, right? Um, disruption matters; it has a big impact on the system. Um, we were talking about three FS 245, uh, 23, 24, and 25. But this board administration came in at the end of that year, and we went from From 72% teacher retention to 97.5%. Now, superintendent after superintendent after superintendent, and teachers and principals leaving the job. Yes, we certainly should have done more before, but I don't want you to think we haven't changed this system in recent years. We now have instructional specialists that we did n't have before. We have an aligned curriculum for the first time. Because before, one school had one experience, another school had a different experience. We don't have that anymore. We've
061seen improvements in literacy and numeracy, and we're not going in the right direction. So, I would like us to accept what's happening right now and move forward together. I promise you I'm going to do whatever needs to be done, even if it's difficult, but I can't explain why things happened years ago. But I believe we're making progress now. If you haven't had a chance to speak, raise your hand. Anyone who hasn't spoken yet, who wants to speak? Okay, then I'll come back to you. I do n't have the answer I wanted about Blazer. No, everyone knows it's a good school, but what I'm saying is, I wish you would go and fight for us. You're going to Palm and Palm is an excellent school. When you talk about disruption, if you could give us 100
062children, we'd take them. If they give us those 100 children, then we don't have to go to Pérez and Pérez doesn't have to be separated. They can leave Pérez there, right? So that they don't have to keep moving and there will be less disruption. I do n't understand why they have more than 12 children. Why can't you go there and say as a community, ' Hey, let's take these kids to Palm?' So that wasn't a community decision. We are teaching exactly the same thing they are teaching there, and we don't have those 3 years with Efes. So, yes, it seems very simple to say, "Oh, this is what we have to do." But I feel like you're just trying to sell it. Ah, we know it's just like the salesman's spiel , right? Ah, but
063you really did talk to us because there were like seven, there were so many questions and they only put like seven. to be the end of the world. It's going to be difficult for those parents to come here or drive 3 more minutes, or like this mother here who lives right next door and won't be able to do that with her child anymore. [applause] I 'm not trying to be a salesman. Ah, I'm just here for myself, I really want to communicate that these are real risks we have, budget risks. So, it's not that I'm trying to sell it, it's that I'm saying we have to do something different from what we 've done in the many previous decades. I have no problem making difficult decisions. I'm going to look for opportunities, I'm going to
064talk to the communities, and I'm going to tell them what I think is best. But there are certain things we've identified as goals or strategies, and that creates difficulties, right? So, I have no problem going over that again . Oh, and one of the things we talked about, I know that different children are assigned to different high schools. and they also divide when they go to high school. So, all of this is something we're talking about when we align referral patterns. Ah, so this is what we're going to do, but all these other things aren't going to be compromised. So, I have no problem. If you want us to look at it, I can re- evaluate it, but it's the total number of places in the area. So, let's say we took students out of
065Blazer. We'll still have the same number of places available in the area, right? No, we haven't deleted anything, we just moved them from one place to another. So, uh, certain decisions were made years ago , right?, when they built Blazer. So, those are the things I want to be honest about. I want to explore, I'm committed to having difficult conversations. I'm going to do my part to support them. They have to build a school for us, and so here we are. 285 of us. So, nobody does anything, nothing gets done. They are sending buses for the students. So, our children are going to drip. My daughter had to change her clothes to be able to come here. So, I don't understand why this happened. One of the things they do is we look at the
066process and evaluate it in a couple of years because I don't want to be here in 5 or 6 years. This is very painful, this is very hard. They are setting those limits to try to optimize them. Families move away , new developments are built, and everything changes. We all have to accept that we'll be taking a break for 20 years, but I hope to have that conversation later. There are some schools that are 44 years old. So, we're doing everything we want to address. So, one of these is processes that are already in place. We only have about 7 minutes left and we have to stop because we have another community meeting after this. Then we'll ask you your questions and we'll do it for you . A question. So, at our last strategy
067meeting, they said that 40% of the students and 40% of the staff should be on that campus. So, the students who see Pérez, 100% of them should be moved, change direction that way. That's how it's going to work. Yes. One of the things I would say is that if there is a larger population, there needs to be a larger group of teacher trainees. What percentage will they have in that new school? What percentage of Pérez is new? So what percentage of them will be taken into account? So it 's 50% of the total staff of a completely different population. If we combine the schools, 150, 50% of the total spa operations and 50% of Pérez's teaching distribution will go to P. So 100% of the school and the new school is much bigger where there
068are 500 and the school that is coming 150 v something like 22% something like that. So, our director, we've already had the conversations, they know that we want our community to know that we are being very intentional in our use of staff, and so there isn't a specific rule of how we're doing it. We never avoided those conversations. So, it doesn't mean that this director is going to be hiring a lot of people just so that 50% of the Pérez staff will go towards. So, some teachers will have to leave because we're going to be reorganizing our schools. So, it's not always going to be something super precise, like 50/50 or something, but whenever there's a new school, there's a percentage that will leave and we'll have to add staff and hopefully it will continue
069to be a new [clears throat] distribution. So, if that's going to be true in any case and in any school, then it's what's going to be best for our students. Yes, yes, 100% everything. So, in the essential areas, yes, of course. So, the essential areas would be very similar, let's say, a very large student population and there is a distribution for physical education. So, how would we do it? When the staff office comes, because most elementary schools have the same layout, regardless of the school's size. So we have areas where we students want the person to be the same school principal whenever possible, and we're going to be very intentional about that. We're going to talk to each other and we'll have some intentions. But what I do n't want to do is create an
070environment where families or staff from outside the school are going to be considered for a school. This will be our last question. So, speaking of projections, they're closing Palm. Blazer is about to explode. What are they going to do in 10 years with the ever- growing population? You're going to need schools that stay open to be able to accommodate those new populations that are here, and this school will continue to be necessary. Well, yes. So, south of Slaughter there are thousands of things, as they mentioned, that are coming out. If we think about it, Akens is located there, there is a plan for investments for many years to come for a primary school very far south, because geographically it does matter. We never want to be sending students all over the schools on buses, and
071we're going to make adjustments for adjacent schools, but then when it's too far away, I'm going to put kids on a bus for 30 minutes to go south. That's something I do n't support, and the board won't support it either. So, if we are planning to consider these moves, adjustments have been made and we have considered expansions. And then there's also what's happening with Kasy and other schools; there's going to be movement in all areas. Once again, Blure doesn't have a very large area. If we could turn back time, it could go much further south. I wasn't here a long time ago, but that's what has created this stress on the system. Okay, thank you all very much. I want to remind you a little bit about the chronology. This is the process. We have
072a plan to present. We're having a district-wide conciliation meeting via Zoom, if you can join. So, on Wednesday our board will have a workshop where we'll talk about this draft plan and we'll see all the cities that have come into our community. And that draft plan and the revisions for that draft will be released this Friday and will be ready for a meeting next Thursday. So, I just want to thank everyone. So, I know that they haven't found what they were looking for, but they can see. So, there's still time to complete this survey and comment card using the QR code. So, what more is there to say? Yes, thank you for your time tonight. I know it's a big interruption. I am very sorry for what we are going through, that's why I am
073committed to it. Thank you very much for your time. I am committed and I will do what I need to do. I hope you will stay with us throughout the process. Your opinion and your information are absolutely important, we care about them. So thank you all very much for all of this.