001Very well, good morning, welcome to Bedicheck High School. I'm here, we're going to talk about consolidation and TAP. So, thank you for being here this morning and being part of this conversation and having this space to ask questions about what's happening with the Bedichec community, and thank you for being here. And without further ado, I'm going to introduce our superintendent, Segura, and get started. Oh, sorry. Let's do it this way first. Good morning. Okay, I'll start in terms of the agenda and what we can expect. My name is Ali Guilarducci, I am the executive director of communications and community engagement. Okay, let's talk about the purpose of this meeting. Oh, and we're going to introduce some of the people who are here, and then we're going to give a rundown of the proposed changes specifically
002for here. And if you recall, we have a new version of the plan. So, ah, right now we're still working on that next version. So, oh, we've also read many of your questions on your comment cards, and we've prepared some answers for them. Oh, and if you have any more comments, there will be plenty of time for questions and comments after that. So, for the board's rules, we want to build the future together, we want to acknowledge the difficulties of the current situation and focus on ideas and solutions. Ah, we want to respect the time. So we're going to ask you to speak for about a minute to give others a chance to speak too. Ah, we want to talk to each other, not against each other, to be respectful. Ah, then, and we want
003to try to respect the order in which we are speaking. Ah, we want to respect the agenda and we want to respect the intention and the impact. We may disagree about the ideas, but we assume a positive intention and a focus on having strong schools for all students. We will also respect space and voices. If you've already spoken once, please let others speak too, and let's stay focused on solutions. Ah, we want to think about what things are needed to solve the problems instead of focusing on our frustration. Ah, so that we can succeed. And lastly, we want to be transparent and empathetic. Ah, we want to be honest and as transparent as possible. So, if you ask a question and feel we didn't answer it, please let us know. We want to make sure
004that your questions and answers are provided. Oh, and the purpose of today's meeting is to answer the questions you've submitted through the comment cards in order to reach a common understanding of the reasons that justify the proposed changes. Oh, and we want to obtain information that contributes to possible solutions. And now the superintendent is coming. Hey, if you can, please stay here because we're recording this meeting in English and Spanish. Thanks, Ali. Don't go too far over here. Um, I appreciate you all coming this morning and having this conversation about the plan, and all the things related to Bedicheck. Before we begin those questions and answers, I want us to have a conversation about why we are doing this work and why we are doing it now. One of the things we've been talking about
005as a school district, as an administration, for the last two years is that we have to ensure that all of our students have everything they need to succeed, but there are also many other things that are required for academic success. We need to make sure we have services, programs, and alignment. The reality is that in AustinD there are very strong neighborhood schools, but there are also schools where families choose to leave that neighborhood and choose another school. And if we think about where we are now, there is a lot of pressure on us. The first is that the state of Texas, the governor, has really made it really difficult for us to get the resources we need. Uh, second, we have to recognize that the accountability system has changed. Oh, and if we don't respond
006to him, we could... we risk him taking control of... the board is here to give direction to the school district and we want to make sure that continues. The other thing I want to say is that in recent years they've seen that enrollment at AISD has decreased, right? And there are things that have contributed to that, but the city has changed. Ah, during all these years that the school district has been here, ah, the students have moved away. Oh, and adjustments need to be made. Ah, so all these things have put a lot of pressure on our school system. So, if we want to have solid schools, strong schools, then we have to do something comprehensive, something holistic. And there are several elements. The first is that we need to make sure we have aligned
007referral patterns. That means that one has a primary school that goes to no more than two secondary schools and that one secondary school does not go to more than two high schools. Can you imagine that this exists in Austin right now? Not in East Austin, not in Central Austin, we have schools that go to three, four, five high schools. So think about the complexity and the lack of alignment, and how we separate families. So we want to make sure that the boundaries of the school attendance zones are aligned. Second, we wanted to address the difficulties regarding the transfer process. There are existing rules that have led to certain results that I don't know were the ones we wanted. So, we want to understand if we need to make adjustments so that in the future these
008transfers can be done without creating an imbalance in the system. And three, we have too many empty seats at Austin D, even with the adjustments, capacity and all the needs, we still have 20,000 empty seats. So, to put that in context, 3,000 more than the Moody Center, 3,000 more seats than the Moody Center has. So, what happens is that when we have so many empty places, it becomes very expensive because of the way we support our school system, and the only way to reduce our cost is to consolidate, right? In 1996 we had approximately 73,000 students and 96 schools. Now, in 2025, we have 70,000 students and 116 schools. So, we can see that we have grown in certain areas and shrunk in certain areas, and unless we put everything online, we will not be
009able to ensure student success. And the other thing I want to talk about is the accountability system. We need to be very honest about our schools and acknowledge that as a school district we have not ensured that our students in schools have what they need to succeed. It is not the fault of the students or the families. It is a series of decisions or lack of decisions during the last few years and more the pressure from the State that has put us in this situation. of having to respond to those risks. When you have unacceptable responsibility ratings, and given the amount we have, if we don't handle that properly, if we don't support those students to make sure they get to where they need to get, it's going to be very difficult for the school
010district. So, the last thing I want to say is that we also wanted to ensure that the programs are aligned. There have been programs and those programs have been supported, but over time the student who should be the focus of that program has changed or moved away. So, for example, we have school-wide dual language programs in schools where the student population, who should be the emerging bilinguals and who should be the focus of that program, are becoming fewer and fewer because they no longer live in those areas. So, we want to stabilize those programs, and that's why we need to move them to where those people have access. Uh, I don't know what happened here, but I'm going to move on to the next slide. So, uh, the next one, yes. Ah, we've discussed that
011we want to close Bedicheck and then maybe reopen it in the future. The board members have been talking to them about what the timeline would be and, during the closure, we have to assign a transformation plan to the Bedicheck school. And the way that happens is which school is going to receive the majority of the students, and based on where Bedicheck is located , Covington is going to receive the majority. And so, the changes that have been made between the first plan and this new plan are that Lively has been removed from the list of receiving schools. Ah, and that was to avoid having so many divisions in this area. Ah, so we wanted to limit disruptions. The other thing I wanted to say in the next slide, if we are, I want to be
012very clear, I recognize how important Bedichec High School is to South Austin. To be honest, I grew up in South Austin. It's a very important school for him, but the reality is that I have to make changes. that to evolve as a school district. The board and I have talked about reimagining what Bedicheck is going to be through a series of transitions. So, one of the things I want to be very clear about is that I cannot start school again next school year. Ah, there has to be time, there has to be planning. So, one of the things we 're working on right now is making sure the plan is well- defined enough so that you can all hold me responsible, along with the board members, and acknowledge that there are things that aren't here,
013that we're going to have to talk to the staff and the students about. Then we'll talk about that. So we can't be very certain. So why do we need to see the process? There is a demonstration. We can continue, but once we arrive we're going to take a break. So, we're making a lot of changes to our transfer procedures and our approach. One thing that wasn't clear from our first plan is that if you're a transfer student at Berich, you'll automatically be approved to be at one of the schools you choose to go to. So if you transfer from outside the district, let's say you're in C and you're coming to Bercheck and most of your friends and family are going to Chington, we would automatically approve you to go here. there. I don't want
014families to be disrupted. This is already too disruptive in itself. So, many of the students go on walls, and if a child wants walls, we'll do that too. So I want to be clear about any changes we make. The other thing we've changed is that if you're a sixth or ninth grade student, if you were in fifth grade the whole time and you always thought you were going to go to this middle school, or you're in eighth grade and you thought you were going to go to a specific ninth grade school. We're going to test all those transfers and we won't have control over school limits. We'll make sure you know we're planning to let those students go and that the transfer will be approved. We've already seen the numbers, we can do it, and
015with time we'll have to achieve a balance and a strategy. So, let's make sure we have something specific so we can identify something. So, here's the plan. Thank you. that is higher. Then we can tell you about a small change. So, we can have a portion that is seen, it is a small portion volume. So we'll be able to do it then, as you can see here, so that the speaker screen doesn't bother me. So this is one of the limits to see check and this is the new limit so that it's in blue would be sounded for walls. In the green area, they would be sanctioned for Covington, and if they are in the blue- purple area, they would be sanctioned for the other school. This is number one for Lely and it changed
016so that she could make other divisions and keep students as close as possible to where they want to be. These are the limits. This is the last part about the transformation plan. So, we've been talking about all this for transformation, which is something we've already shared before. So, it has any school that requires the transformation plan. It will follow most of the students from the original schools. Most of the students are going to Covington. So, the transformation plan will follow them to Covington, and that plan will come with the new Covington and Berheck mix area. So, once we have approval for our entire plan, we're going to work with that school community to make sure the plan reflects the new goal of the combined school. So, anyone who is being consolidated, whether it's a transformation
017plan, a rebuild, you'll see, it's going to be approved by our superintendent in December as soon as possible. After the vote, so that we can make sure we can begin with the recruitment of personnel, be able to work with the administration to get started, and the sooner we can know that, the sooner we will be able to control the anxiety and other feelings of instability we may have. So, if we have this transformation plan, he will be required to and has the requirements to be able to stay at that school. If they don't have the requirements, there will be a later hiring period and we'll see which schools have availability. And then there will be a couple of rounds of this, and if they want to and if they want to stay with us, that's
018going to be an option they can handle. The other part of the transformation plan is as we are speaking. Unless there are more resources being used for our reconstruction, we will be able to continue using them. Then, we will receive $800,000 in funding for the leadership team of the schools. That could be for construction, intervention. So, however they need it, make sure it's important to meet the goals of the transformation plan. And that was the last thing we had. Now we have the questions from the comment cards. So, we want to start with the questions here. I think there are a couple of questions here. So, what we have is, we've received a lot of feedback and then we asked some questions based on the feedback, but then we're happy to be back as this
019is your time, to answer your questions, to have a conversation to support you here where you are. Yes, ma'am. Then we can use the microphone to capture it in the video. I am the president of the PTA at CENAMO Elementary, sorry for being a school that comes here and we are divided between Mendez and this and Covington. Now I'm going to appreciate all the work that these new school boundaries are doing, which have been very complicated, but the changes we just saw on the map. So we have a very small part on the other side of I-35. This is one of the stairwell boundaries that he said he was going to respect, and now they're crossing the lines and I don't know why. So, those were established last and some go towards Covington and now
020it's B. Apart from that, Mend is a Charter-run school . It's right. So currently they do n't have teachers. They do n't have teachers hired from there. So, my tax dollars, your tax dollars are going to Charter. So why are they giving the school to Charter? I don't want that. So, everything he said is accurate, it's correct. One of the things I'm going to tell you is that this plan is forward-looking, it's for the future. So, yes, there has historically been an agreement with the schools that are going to Méndez, and we will continue this conversation through this. I'm very aware that it's there for them. I do n't know about you, but we're having conversations about the spaces and more ideas, and with a working session that will go towards potential changes to be
021able to create the space in Méndez to return to what it was. It's going to be a school of the future, it was never intended to be a charter school forever and be removed. They're doing the work there, we'll get it back. The thing is, what is this going to look like, and how to ensure that everyone is welcome and that it really is an Austin school? It's also about hiring the staff properly and making sure we don't introduce any additional risk. We've already taken on new resources, it requires planning and we're working on that. Therefore, everything he said is accurate and correct. We're working on that. I am aware. It's one of those things. which we did based on our last working session and it's something we're working on in that hour. So, currently,
022when students are assigned to a school, they will automatically be approved. So, families have the option of going to certain schools, and they're going to give those options to all families. So now I'm going to go to the first question of the comment cards. So how can Independent School District 2 ensure that this closure does not disproportionately punish the student population of Beriche, which is an excessively disadvantaged segment of the district? Yeah? So, when we look at the impact, we always see which students are going to be affected, and we will make sure that they are the closest to this work. And I'm going to tell you, it really matters that we're here, to be very transparent and see ways in which the schools are working. So that's what should happen. If we wait until
023spring and hope that all these changes happen before we prepare, it will have an adverse impact on all of us, and that will be something that will be part of our plan. So, what services do we have? How are we going to do this effectively? So that's really the main point of our planning. So, as is our nature, we have to take the lead, listen to the student voices, the voices of the community, and see how we develop the new plans. Now you see the students have arrived. Good morning . Now they had something they wanted to share here, something for the superintendent. So have a question for us, just raise your hand. Do you have anything? Do you have any papers in your hand? Did you prepare anything? Thanks to everyone for watching. This
024is very important. It's important to listen to what ideas, what concerns, what's going on in their mind. You are the reason we exist. We are here to support these teeth. This is the only reason why you, nobody, exist. I know it's tough right now and there are a lot of things going through your mind right now, but please let us know, tell us how we can support you. This is tough and I know this brings up different kinds of feelings. Let us know what's there so we can. So share whatever you have. If you have any questions, we can stay later and talk. Then he can come. Yes, you can. Why is the school closing? I have to do it because there are four very important things happening that are impacting us. One is that
025there aren't enough students filling the South Austin campus, which includes those living in South Austin, between Covington, Paredes, Lively, and Bettek. And then when we think about what it takes to support all our students, when we have small schools, we realize it's very inefficient, it 's very expensive. And what we know is that as numbers have gone down, it means there are fewer and fewer students because it's a bit expensive to live here. We have to make a decision because I can't guarantee that each of you has what you need to be successful. They need teachers, they need to have their teachers. We need to have programs; after-school activities require resources, money, and other things. And unless I can find ways to operate in a less costly manner, I cannot guarantee that you will have
026everything you need in your Austin career. ID. So that's why we have to make that decision. Thank you for that. Thank you. What is your name? Rosabela. To what degree? Excellent. Where are you going next year? Maybe Crocket. Oh, I love Crockett. Crocket is amazing. Excellent work. Any questions? What's going to happen to our GT class in geometry? Ah, the question was, what about GT Einstein? My job is to make sure we have programs to support you. So, we have amazing programs in Bedichec, and in that transition process, we're going to determine what each of you needs in the other schools and make sure we have the resources, the people, and the programs that are needed to be in those schools and welcome you. Right now, I'm going to be honest, some schools have different
027programs than others, but it's always based on the needs of the students. So, based on what you've taken and where you want to go, and your desires and opportunities that you want to see in the other schools, we as a school district made that decision. Programs can be moved . We move programs all the time. So, I want it to be there for you. Hey, that show is going to continue for you. Excellent question. What grade are you in? Eighth. They're all in eighth grade, right? Seventh. Okay. Where are you going next year? Xins. Okay. Excellent. Thank you for your question. We are doing a question and answer session with the superintendent. Two students had questions and now new students have entered. This is your opportunity if you would like to share your ideas or
028if you have any questions for the superintendent. And we can always go back to the students. Oh yes , if the students are thinking of their questions, they can raise their hands and we'll come back to them. Hello, my name is Catherine Marta. Oh, I have a son in seventh grade and one in eighth grade. And my question is, why did they renovate the main office if they were planning to close? When we started planning the renovations. That was in 2021-2022. Uh, it was with that bonus. Hey, if there are staff and students in the building, we're going to support them. But in 2021 and 2022 they told us that the State was not going to provide funding to the schools. Ah, if I had known that, and that two years later they were only
029going to give us so little money, I wouldn't have believed it, would I? Based on how difficult it has been for our district. We didn't know we were going to be in this situation back in 2022. Oh, so that money will ultimately benefit a school, wherever the students go. So, I want to make sure that the students and staff are safe in the building, and that the students know that if they know something is changing, then we're going to do that work. But we didn't know we were going to be in this situation, and it's important anyway that the students feel safe, that everyone is safe, and that we make those investments. Just a second, if you could come this way, please, a quick announcement. They are recording. Oh, remember that we can't post things
030online that involve students. So, if you are capturing students, please do not post it online. Another question: what will happen to special education teachers? Yes. Um, I need our students, our families, and our staff to know that at no point in this process have I ever said anything other than that if our educators and staff want to be in this district, they're going to have their home here. What's going to happen, and Ali talked about it, but I want to be clearer. Uh, we're going to go through a hiring process, right? So, it's going to be based on the plan for that school. Covington will have a different staffing plan than Paredes. So, it's based on where we are in our academic trajectory. But my intention is that our students see faces they are familiar
031with, that there are leaders in their schools, and as these schools hire more staff, I want us to start with the staff who were already working in these schools. In terms of our special education teachers, they are not placed based on enrollment, but on the needs of the students. So, if the teachers from Bedich go to a school that doesn't have that unit or that support, then the special education director will evaluate and place that person where it's needed, because this will happen over time as these students move through our organization, so we want to meet the needs of those students wherever they are. So, we don't want anyone to leave, but in terms of special education staffing, it depends on where our students go. Okay. Something I want to clarify because there seems to
032be some confusion. Ah, you've probably heard that there will be staff who won't have a place. I want to explain how we are going to close schools, but the staff will stay on. If we have 70,000 students, that's almost 11,000 employees. And every year, we hire almost 700 teachers, educators, and staff. So what that means is that instead of having to go outside of EASD to hire, what we're going to do is hire those who are already on ASD Hosting. Yeah, that's the way we're going to do it. So the total number of positions will be reduced, but because of our size we can protect our educators and our staff who want to stay here at ASD. And I want to be very clear, we are taking into account the opinion of our teachers and
033our staff. Ah, we know that some educators live in the south or in the north. Ah, perhaps they want to have a different experience, teach at a different school. We are taking all of that into consideration before making plans for staffing. Students, do we have any other questions here? Oh, here. Okay, come here. They are very brave. Excellent. What other options are available for the school, and what options are you considering? What other options are available for the school, and what other things are we proposing to do, right? We explored several options before arriving at this point. What is your name? Lincoln. Okay. Ah, we looked at many options before getting to this point. One of the things I want to emphasize is that we have tons of empty spots in all the high schools
034in South Austin. And that's because people have moved out of the area. So, there aren't enough sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. So, we have Bedicheck in the middle, we have Covington to the west, we have Lively and Mendez to the northeast. Ah, so when we think about moving students, it's very difficult for a single school to move its entire operation to another high school. It won't fit. So, we need to see how we can move students in a way that creates a balance in South Austin. So, that's how we arrived at this solution, and it really depends on geography. Based on where Bedicheck is located. Before coming here, I reduced our expenses from last year by more than $100 billion. Uh, we reduced staff. Ah, I did everything possible before coming to the schools.
035It's something we didn't want to do. And that's how we arrived at this plan, and the goal for the future is to go through this process and then start Bedicheck again with a different program based on what the community and students need. That would be the plan for the future. Does it make sense? Excellent question. What grade are you in? Seventh. Hi, my name is Shannon. I have a seventh-grade student. My daughter went to Ann Richards and oh, my son is going to another high school. My daughter is in special education and it's going to be very difficult next year with the move. Ah, when they say they have empty places, they say they have to go and hire these teachers. So, I don't understand why they have to go and hire these teachers when
036they have all these empty positions. Ah, because those are the teachers who leave our school districts, people retire. Ah, so that rate of teachers leaving and staff leaving, that allows us to hire every year. And that's why you've taken the time to understand why they're leaving. Well, right now we have 97 and something percent of staff. So, uh, you asked me a question and I'm trying to answer it, right? Based on the teachers who are leaving. You would have title one schools that have first-year teachers. So, every time a teacher leaves and a new teacher comes in, you have to do the induction, you have to give them the orientation, train them so that they have enough tools to support the students, and that takes time. So, we are losing a lot of teachers in
037our Title One schools. So, we've really reduced the number of teachers who do that, right? Ah, it's about having a better school culture and climate . Uh, when I first arrived, we had to hire 26 directors that year. This was before we were here. When are schools paid, if schools pay depending on attendance. Yes. So that student is still there. The school shouldn't have to do the budget. That's when we parents have to go and fight for that funding that should be given to schools whether students are in class or not. Yes. And for the last two years that has been a focus for us, it has been to increase average daily attendance . Uh, we need to use that to calculate the funds. So, let's say Matías comes to school and only comes 4
038out of 5 days. So, we only get funding for the days I was at school. But that doesn't mean the teacher isn't there. I still have to pay the teacher, the principal. So, ah, we're trying to increase average daily attendance and we're now 1.3% higher than last year. It seems like a small number, but it 's actually quite a lot. Ah, so we're focusing on chronic absenteeism. Oh, and if you go up 1.5 or 2%, we're talking about 70 or 80 million dollars. I completely agree with you. So that's a lot. So, we wouldn't need to have this conversation. It would have been very useful and there have been many things and we have that there have been many defenders. So, the state has not been responsible, it has not responded well, and we have
039had this since last year, because if you are not here, then absenteeism in a low-income neighborhood, right? So the government won't pay for it, so they can make their lives better. I agree. Then it's going to take a lot. We have a question here. Sorry, sorry. And I have a line in seventh grade here. Then I had other children here. And it has been a great help to me to be here. I think the transition you are making is causing all of this. My daughter is a transfer. We're not from here. I have a daughter here. because there are good programs here in the changing zones. What's going to happen to my children now that they're having your algebra classes, all these classes? for school. So, we're getting ready so that he can go to
040school. So, these children who are being sent to these schools, we are preparing to go to university. How are you going to do that? We believe our programs are based on where the students come from, and the programs here are where the students live. So, as we move forward, we're looking at each of the transitions and seeing what programs aren't in Covington, what programs aren't on walls that are needed, because these students are going there and we have to make sure they have programs that support them. The programs are moving. We need to support all programs that will help students based on leadership and also based on community and students. That's why we're doing this with enough time so that I have enough time for the students to be successful in the foundation programs. But
041we are going to move to student-based programs . It's like we 're seeing in high school too, where students go to a high school and are looking at what programs are going to be offered there because they thought they were going to go to another school. Then you will be able to make those adjustments. This is all based on student needs, so we have to see what problems you will need help with. Going there means that the changes they're talking about will be made. So the question here was, when do they do it? We are still in this time where once the vote is done, we are going to have a planning framework to move forward, but we cannot produce them so that we have the voices of the students and the voices of the
042community because you can see that they are on that campus, that they are changing or we can do it here because I am going to tell you what it needs. We want this conversation to say, this is what our students need. What do we need to hire? What do you have to do and train me to move forward with the schools? So you're not going to have this now. They want to make a plan during this time, but they don't know exactly what to do. So, from November 20th we're going to move forward, we're going to put the directors in place, and then we're going to make hires and have the academic programs ready. It all depends on the students' needs and how it will be managed. That's why these processes and conversations are so
043important. That's why we're not going to do it. We'll have enough time in the next semester . So let's go back here. A question. He is in seventh grade. Yes, I have a question. My question is, why, like, why ca n't we as a seventh-grade kid end up here? That's an excellent question. Finishing eighth grade here is a big question. I want to answer, but I want to ask, to answer in a way that is truly analyzed and thought out. In the state of Texas there is education, the Texas education agency . They determine how they think the schools are doing and assign these grades. We all know our students know we're much better than any assessment or test that's ever been given, but unfortunately, we're in a state that has a slightly different approach.
044So, the reality is that we are facing, and that I am facing, and that it cannot be avoided, that is that in the last 3 years, although there has been great academic growth, we are so close, but from the perspective of the state, there have been three consecutive years of not fulfilling the responsibility of this word that they use. So, if we don't make a change and that fourth year arrives, then we as the studio could lose our ability to support the 70,000 students. Here's an example. We're in the library right now. We love librarians who instill in us a love of reading, not just reading to prepare for exams. So, I don't read much, I love to read, and there are different schools that no longer have librarians. Can you believe that? There are
045school districts in Texas that do not have librarians. We made the decision with our board and administration to say, we value librarians, we value our curriculum, we want to make sure that we have control over what you're going to learn every year. It is our responsibility. But if we don't address the three years of non-compliance, we're going to lose control of making those decisions for all our students. So, a time of urgency. Nothing to do with you. You are doing what you are doing and what you should be doing. It's really my function, and with the state, finding this balance. So, if they had another year, it could be a fourth year, and that just triggers those interventions, but more and more things are going to be done so that they could even take it
046away from us. That's a big one. So when we can, we like to try to do that. So, right now there are two school districts that have already had them removed by the state of Texas. The largest is Houston. Everyone has heard of Houston, the Houston school district, and recently the FW school district is with us. We are very similar in size, we are about 70,000 students and they have recently been notified that they will be a board of administrators with a superintendent appointed by them, but these things can happen and we cannot avoid a tough decision. Because I want to make sure that when you're in high school, and when your little brother, sister, or these generations of students after you come, they're receiving an education based on our values. They need to be
047our values, and we're going to protect them. And even if we have to make tough decisions, you all benefit from being in this community and not just being run by the state. Great question. An excellent question. So if we all write to each other, then that's where we have teams that help us, and it's not going to be perfect, because it will be based on how each family decides to approach this. Each one will have divisions, and we want to reduce the number of divisions. At some point there must be up to five different divisions because there are more and more groups and then let's say maybe your friends go to Perez, but you are sonified for COVID. This is what we would say. If you want to go to PR, we'll automatically test you.
048I want to make sure that our students, that you know, don't worry, how this is, and it's very disruptive, and I'm really sorry. That's why I want to make sure that during the transition we will do everything we can to make this transition as smooth as possible, and it's never going to be wonderful. But now that we can do it, we'll be able to get friendly votes, but there won't be a way for everyone to get them. Go together. Because doing it is difficult. We can do it in the first ones, but not in Gracias. We have one more question from a student and then we could ask another one. My question is, what grade are you in? Do you have sample data of successful students in other schools? Yes, it really has to do
049with this, with it either working or not working. So it really comes down to how much time, energy, and focus we're using. We just do it , we talk about doing something in the spring and that's how we made this decision during Spring Break and then we hired. We have a plan between Spring Break and the summer. We're not going to succeed, we're simply not going to do it because what we need in this plan is time and conversations with you, with the community, with your colleagues and our families, and then build a plan that actually works and test it and hire people to make sure that it's really done faithfully. When it's done well, those plans are made with reflection and thought, and they are making the students local. When I've seen them go
050wrong, it's because it 's a reaction. When we wait until later in the semester, we make a decision and don't have the time to plan. I've seen it, I've seen that it has been successful, but only if we plan and support students during the process. So yes, we both control that. So let's look at one thing. If we close, then which schools will they go to? So, Cinta, Paredes and Méndez. Those are the three schools that are currently there. The largest group of students come to Covington, the second group Paredes, and a smaller group, Méndez. What is your name? I 'm in seventh grade. I'm curious. So, how do you raise funds for schools? is divided equally. You have some very good questions. This is how the funds. We create student-based funds . Let me
051give you an example. If you have a large number of students, you're going to need more teachers. You need more of ours to support the based programs. There is a special program at the school, whether it's a dual language program or another program, we have to be staffed based on that. So there are more distributions, so there is programming that there is a program related to UIL, whether it's fine arts or sports, if there are enough students who have an interest especially in high school, then we have to give them funding. So, it's really based on student needs. We have had schools that have a little more support and we are going to provide more staff, whether it be instruction cars, uh people who come to help teachers and simply support the teachers. So, to
052tackle problems once and for all, you know? So a baseline based on the students and then you go to the student need. So it's not all the same, but it's based on the needs of the students. Yes. As the school is closing. Uh-huh. Well, I would say it's the number of AHEs there are throughout South Austin, and what puts pressure on it is the state's accountability system, which is what the ratings are. What if we funded schools better? Schools that are having difficulties like this. Yeah, we'll do it, we'll do it right now. Well, the reality is that it's difficult to take the next step because there's no more money. So if I had more funds available, I would do more. But since there are so many empty places throughout the district, I ca n't
053do it without cutting the budget. So, we're already doing it. We want to do more, but I need money to be able to do it. And we might be saving money, but then we 're reinvesting it. You're in seventh grade. Hello, I'm Miss Mendoza. I want to say a few positive things. I know that students are going and teachers too, but I feel that some things have been said at this meeting to clarify things like geography, responsibility, and those are the reasons why the decision was made to close Bedicheck. Ah, but coming from being in this library as a student myself to being a teacher, I feel like I've heard a lot of information, but something I don't hear enough of are all the positive things we do, even academically. I understand that we have
054certain accountability issues because of the way the state ranks our schools, but it's not being recognized that we're a school with an accountability stigma, and it's kind of crazy not to hear all the positive things about our school, especially when we have people from the district asking us, "Oh, how did you do this?" I mean, I 'm hearing things in the media, but I don't think we get enough credit for all the hard work we do. I want to say those kinds of positive things, and that's what makes this so difficult— the pressure of the schedule. When I came here, I think it was in 2024, that's when the 2023 accountability came up. Yes. And we were genuinely trying to create a plan to work on Bedichec and stabilize things. And there are incredible things
055happening not only at Bedichec but throughout the entire school system. So right now it's so negative , but these are great schools, and these rankings are there because Someone is evaluating the schools that way. Oh, and how many schools do we have? Um, the growth we've seen these last few years has been incredible, and we do notice it. Um, that's why we came to ask you how you did it , but at the end of the day, the state evaluates things a certain way, and we're frustrated that we're here right now, but if we don't do something, the long-term students in Austin District could be affected, and it's going to happen if we don't make these decisions. These are things that are going to happen. Oh, so I love our teachers, our staff, and we're
056here because of things that have happened over the last few decades, but I love this school district, and something has to change to protect who we are. So, I want to make sure I protect the staff, I want to make sure there's student input in the process, but yes, things are difficult, and there are incredible things happening here. And one of the questions the students asked—there was one who played volleyball, there are three teams here. So, uh, how are we going to do about the teams from Bedicheck and Covington? Right? They're different teams. Yes, there are already three teams here, so how are we going to bring all those teams to one school? And we have three people, excuse me, who are waiting to ask questions, but I want to answer that question too. Let's
057go back to it. Yes. Hello, my name is Celina Castañeda. I have six daughters, all in AISD. Six. Yes. Baker, Crocker, Crocket, and three of my daughters have been here at Bedicheck. And there are many positive things, as you were saying, my oldest daughter finished eighth grade, and I mean, she was first in her class, but she was one of the top students with the highest average. She was in choir all three years she's been here, in orchestra, and she went to the regional competition, and both opportunities were given to her because they were here building that choir and orchestra program with Miss Stuart, who used part of her summer to coach the students. She also represented the volleyball team, the basketball team, the track team. She plays chess, and as I said, she finished
058eighth with the highest average. Oh, with one of the highest averages, and everything he did here was thanks to those programs. He wouldn't have had those opportunities if it weren't for the program that only Bediche offers. And I know you said you can move those plans. There are plans to move those programs, and I'll get to that in a moment. But I also want to say that those opportunities wouldn't have been possible without teachers like Miss Brom, Mr. Dackson, Stewart. Oh, I want to make sure I don't forget any of these teachers. She hasn't stopped coaching and supporting the student-athletes she has. And there's so much uncertainty for these teachers and coaches who are still giving 100% to the students. Um, Miss Manens, Miss Bryan, staff like Miss Atkinson, Miss Hartman, Miss Smith. Oh, last
059year my daughter didn't have—there were so many things in her schedule—but she still wanted to participate in her choir and get her Spanish credits. And Miss Hartman and Miss Atkinson made that possible. And that's what Bediche is about—it gives these students opportunities. Kids. If they take Bedichec away from us, they're taking away those opportunities. Right now she's at Crockett and she's doing great as a freshman. She's in an advanced math class, and the only other freshman in that class is from Bedichec, in that advanced math class at Crockett, because no other school is giving her that opportunity, and she's thriving there. She's doing great in all her classes, and that's because of the structure Bedichec has, the sports. She had those opportunities to learn sports, to play sports, to have nothing but aces because of
060Bedichec's size. I know it's not as big a school as Covington or Paredes, but because of the size of the school, she had those opportunities, and now, like I said, she's also in the choir there, and as a ninth-grade student, she's the only student in that class who can read music, and that's because of the education she got here in the programs they had here at Bedichec. So, excuse me for talking so much. Oh, I also have an eighth-grade student here, She's a student representative, she's the president, and she's also part of the student council. She represents volleyball, basketball, and track and field, and meanwhile, she's still in her three years of advanced academic programs and she's going to finish this year with those two advanced math credits . She's going to have credit for
061IPC, which I think is also an excellent opportunity to be able to get into Crockett and not have to worry about the schedule and the credits she has to complete. Yes. The other thing is, I have a sixth- grade student in the same programs. So, how long is it going to take to get that program up and running? And the other thing is the location. Bedicheck has one of the best locations. It doesn't matter what direction you're coming from. I can come from any direction, I can get here on time, every day. They have perfect attendance because this school operates in that way. And all of that is going to have to be taken into consideration if the school changes, right? If Bedicheck closes. Thank you. Do you want to say anything about that? Uh,
062no, super impressed, but Yes, very impressed. I have two daughters; I ca n't imagine having six. Ah, I think what your students are experiencing is what we want for the TNDs. I would say it's a very difficult situation we 're in. There are many decisions being made that are really trying to reduce the pressure and stress on the system, the budget, the change at the federal level. There are many, there aren't many options. Ah, the only option would be to wait and see what happens, but that's not something I 'm willing to do. So, the way I process this is, if I recognize that it's something that has to happen, how can I support the students? The programs that failed did so because they weren't planned properly, the necessary resources weren't allocated. So, for me,
063I don't have many options. It's really about whether it's the only way to achieve this. Uh, but I appreciate your comments, and what we're trying to do is figure out how to do this thoughtfully, because we want your daughters to have everything they've had at Bedicheck, that we have to adjust and do what Better for the whole city. My name is Esña. I'm here because if you were with the graders, you knew the grades were failing, and why didn't you offer summer school programs? That's why we're in this situation of having our schools closed. We have a lot of support; we have very good academic classes. And if it weren't for Ms. Arkens and the tutoring and RTOTC, not all schools have that, and my child needed the discipline, and it has helped him become
064a better person. So there are many opportunities here for the children. But then, why didn't you do it? Why didn't you come in and say, "It's okay to fail once?" Because you didn't make an effort to get the children to come to the schools like you did with others. Something I heard is that there were three schools that offered them. But we wouldn't be in this position if you had offered. You say you care about the students, and the students come, and the attendance is very good here. So that's money, and it's for the children, and that's right, and that's not right. You You said it was about the children, but they're offering us summer programs. I want to be clear. We're talking about 2022, 2023, and 2024. What were they going to do? So
065we're talking about stability and how it looks in the system. Then the leadership changes happened, which caused instability throughout. So I am committed, and I remain committed, to providing the support that students need. So I have to understand what each school community needs, how we can support them, and then move forward. And this is something that is challenging; we have to make these decisions and probably see results, but we're going to do it in a responsible way. So, what we are fortunate enough to be able to do is do it in a sustainable way. So, whoever is in charge in the following years can continue it, in case we backtrack now, but we've had problems with these schools. I also want to say something. So, I said, asking, we didn't have schools; we had to
066balance them because we didn't have enough money to run them. So, when we talk about money, it's to spend our money where there were going to be students. And that's the district's budget. So, if the schools aren't using the programs, that's money that's being spent. That's why we're in this process, because of the amount of money, and most of the money we're going to recover is going to go back to our schools , but it's not like the district is keeping that money. We want to use the money to provide solutions. When it comes to education, some parents don't have a problem paying for their children's education, their school, their insurance, but tutoring, anything that students need to make them successful academically. Yes. And I think, let's be honest, not all schools have more resources.
067I think we know that's the right way to operate. So, we need to have more resources to continue supporting the children. We can look at hiring, placements. There are decisions that other superintendents may have made about how many students to have and how many instructional coaches, how many teachers for certain grades. So, we could reduce that. So, we've used a lot of energy trying to figure out what the problem is that we have. that we face in every school. But what I'm going to tell you is that all the changes the district is making are necessary. So if we're going to talk about that, we have to find the money to utilize the resources they need. It's not just because a specific school is identified or something, but it's really a function of the entire
068system, trying to find the open spots and see that the resources can go to the teachers, to the students, to the programs. I don't have the ability or the funds. It's going to be worse because you're going to send all these schools to different schools. Yes, no, we already looked at all of that. We're going to plan to staff everyone. So, we would never offer something we couldn't cover. So, and really, the composition of the students and teachers isn't going to change. And we have a transformation plan to make sure they have the necessary or extra teachers. We're going to ask a question that this student has been waiting for a while, and transportation, as our policy now, if you're more than 2 miles away, you're going to have automatic transportation. So it could be,
069I don't know, an area like William Canon, something like that, a larger area. That's our policy. So, how Is it going to work now? And now we're going to have Covington and Walls. So, if there's any gap in transportation, we're going to use the 2-mile radius. And if they go to high school, depending on how big they are and how big the transportation systems are, we'll fix it. Okay. Rosabel, the interpreter, didn't understand this question. I hear you. It's a very difficult thing. I want to make sure our students stay in Austin, and that's why we're doing all this and having a meeting with their families, so we can understand each other and know how to support them better. We have a couple more questions, three more. I have an eighth-grade student, and I have
070another one who's thinking about attending Veracruz soon, but obviously, they're going to close the schools. So, my main question is, considering that in the last year, taxpayers have paid so many millions of dollars for the master plan and other school studies in the state of Texas, and simultaneously, the state has a $24 billion surplus, how is it not possible that they distribute money to us to help with this deficit? What do we have here? Dylan, what you're experiencing is what hasn't been done for the last few years. So, with the recapture, we got $714 million a few weeks ago. And another amount about 12 months ago. If you 're right, that money is collected, it goes to the state, and the state redistributes it. Not everyone keeps a large portion of it. The problem is,
071we 've fought and fought and fought, and we only have a couple of legislators in Central Texas, and throughout the rest of the state, there are just as many. So, others benefit from the recapture. So, they're not going to vote to do it a different way. That's the truth. That's the truth. That's how things are done in the state, in the legislature. You need to have a majority that supports the thing. So, we've been fighting and fighting and fighting about this typical thing. We filed a lawsuit in 2017, we challenged it, we challenged it in 2019, and we're still at it. But it's not going to change, it's just not going to change. So, our people changed, we said Or I understand that we're not going to be able to receive it because of the
072power it has. So, let's just have more public education funding. Let's do that. Let's see how to divide the millions of dollars in the school system, and we decided to spend it on teachers, and there was a bit of a shift in the structure of 20 million dollars. So, it was used for certain programs, and we ended up seeing how to combine how the dollars are spent. So, in the end, there was an increase of about 10 million dollars. The teachers received a raise, which is wonderful because we needed that, and that's probably the problem we have, even in the federal government. It's where the funds are coming from—Title I, Title II , Title III, and Title IV—which comes from the government. So, at the beginning of the year, I sent a letter to families
073saying that the source of funding that was to pay salaries was closing, and I'm not in a position because I don't have the resources to carry them over once. So, it really impacted our balance of funds. We need individual support with all the things we really believe in. And the reality is that I'm just trying to get to a place where we don't have that we're dependent on those kinds of funds. So I'm going to keep saying that we fought, but unfortunately, Austin just doesn't have everything we should have. And so, in order to have our funding, we need between $100 and $13 per student. And the legislature wanted to offer that, but it's nothing close to what it really costs to support a student. My name is Maria. I've been a mom for seven
074years. I have a daughter who's in seventh grade, she's very sad, and I told her, "It's time to go." I'm really going to leave. I do n't have a question. Mr. Seguro, you have a very difficult task ahead of you. So why is it that I have an older daughter and it's always the same problem? You have a very tough job, but I see this as a game of Monopoly. So good luck and I think that putting children in a school is a very bad idea and it's happening because we also have for. My child needs to get up at 6 in the morning. Because they have to be picked up by a bus from school and the parents have to just drop them off at school and before the parents of and they are
075not allowed to play in the playground, but they are not allowed to play because they are not in that school and so a playground has to be made so that our children can play. So it's very difficult to open a gym. Another gym needs to be built, and there are sports classes there, and I've been trying to do this for I don't know how long. I've been through this whole transition and I live just a few minutes' walk from the state. So I'm dealing with my daughter and I've had to do everything. So she's very sad about this. I know that what's going to happen with it, we're not going to see Char School as an option anymore, maybe. My opinion is that I do n't know, I have no idea what you're going to
076do, but it's no longer an option, I imagine, to put the schools into two schools in one, because as you already say, because the program is not the same as she says. If you go to one house and then to another, you'll be the visitor, and then the district will do that. So, I think that's a problem. We do n't want anyone to feel like a visitor, do we? When we are bringing the schools together. Yes. I appreciate that. It 's difficult. We have been here for 144 years. The district has evolved, it has changed, and there have been many things that probably aren't great. Ah, but we ca n't continue being the district we 've been. Ah, because we have family in other parts of the city. They don't have the resources, and I
077don't have the resources for them. Ah, then it's something very complex. I have 70,000 students in 116 schools, not just one, these are our students, they are our families and I love this district and I love this city. When we're thinking about combining schools, we're building teams called bridge teams, and we start that when we're modernizing schools where we're very proactive. We talk about who should be at the discussion table, who knows the history of the schools, how to bring the PTAs together, what the programs will be like, all that support. That's what's going to happen in this case. So, we have the frames for those teams. Ah, we are tracking different data with accuracy. So, if there's anything that's needed, we can address it immediately. Then, we can succeed. I am very saddened by
078what is happening now. Oh, and thanks for sharing your comment too. Okay, this is going to be our last question. Hi, my name is Stephanie. I have a child in special education. My question is, why have we had this meeting to express our concerns? I feel that the decision has already been made without taking our students and parents into consideration. Uh, why do all this? That's my question. Yes, we started this process in February or March of this year, right? We identified five big things we were trying to fix. Uh, all the responsibility ratings came out for 3 years straight and we were going through this process and that would have been different if we had known we were going to be here in November. Ah, so we have a plan, we've been refining that
079plan, but there are n't many big parts that can be changed without putting our board and administration at risk. So, oh, one thing we did agree on is that we need to reduce the budget deficit. Otherwise, if we don't reduce the number of empty places, that won't be achieved. So, if we don't close some schools, we'll be here next year having the same conversation. We're going to have zero time to plan because the district is going to be in a terrible situation. So, ah, because there are two things, right? Responsibility and also funding. So, I don't want to delay this process any further. Ah, I prefer to be clear about what we're going to have to do, and I know the community wants what's best for all our students and to proceed with minimal disruption,
080but give the community time to plan. So, that's why we're doing it this way. Yes, I'm listening to feedback. Ah, I 'm not the one who ultimately makes the decision, it's the board of directors, but I want us to be able to contribute to the elements of the plan, after careful consideration. I have a quick question. You 're saying that it 's based on certain categories, and if you do n't meet those criteria, the state will still treat you the same way. Uh, these five areas, the transfer rules, the accountability, uh, the program changes, uh, those things are our goals to change the entire system. What I can tell you is that I don't know if we'll ever be able to align all the referral patterns here in Austin, like, thinking about some of the
081schools. There are schools like Covington that go to Crockett. We probably couldn't achieve that and completely align all referral patterns so that all students pass together. Ah, if they read all the details in our plan. If the state is trying to take control, of course not. Ah, I would like to move away, because every time we move further away from our goals in the plan, the more risk we have from the State, the more risk we will have to manage in terms of budget. What I don't want is to be a school district that suddenly has all these things going on, and the state says, "Okay, we're going to do this. These teachers are out, these schools are closing, and they're making all the decisions." That's what's going to happen because they're saying, "You should
082have done this before, because you didn't make these decisions before." So, what I want is for the way we're doing this to be more thoughtful, more considered, and it's going to be for the good of the students. So, if they take control of our schools, they're going to be making all the decisions. So, what I'm saying is, "We're not going to get to that point." Does that help answer your question? Yes. So, I think some of us might stay a little longer to continue the conversation. But I'll quickly check the timeline . There are some important dates coming up, and I'll let you know when the next conversation will be . These conversations we 're having with the community will also include comment cards. We made a new card on Friday . Make sure you
083use the new card. Oh, and this Thursday is November 6th, so the board will vote on the final plan on November 20th. So, thank you to the students who are leaving, and again, some of us can stay if you have any more questions.