001Welcome, rattlers. Good morning. Thank you for being here today. We're still having people coming in , but for those of you who don't know, if you need to use the restroom, there's one right here across the hall. Uh, I think none of us, well, not everyone has a tattoo on their body. They can go directly in there, but they cannot enter the building. There's the bathroom and it's only for one person. Please don't queue, there isn't much space. The bathroom will be back there, and there's coffee too. I hope everyone had the opportunity to register, but if not, you can do so when they leave. Welcome. I'm so happy you're here today . I want to thank you for taking the time out of your morning. through this meeting so that we can have more
002answers, more clarification for the things that are happening. I would like to thank the superintendent and his group and all the people who are with you today for being here, for supporting us, and for making themselves available to listen and ask questions. We have 90 minutes for this meeting and a lot of it will be questions and answers because we chose not to do the presentation and I think I've already... enough of that. I know there have been some changes, but not many to our plans. And now we're going to switch to Victoria Oil, who is the queen of Enroll. And that's much better. I think it's going to be easier this year. Okay, very good. Let's begin. Hello, everyone. Yes, there is no presentation today, but I do want to use some slides to
003review the agenda and the purpose of what we will be doing here today. Thanks to Director Shot for the welcome, and we're here to talk about the questions you had, which were specific to things here at Richtop in terms of the rules for today. We are all working together as the same team to create a future for education here in Austin, especially for its students, and if we can, we will focus on ideas and solutions. That would help us spend more time together to make it more productive. Here we have the first responders. Please try to be specific to respect other people's time. Some people may have ideas and comments they'd like to share, so we can limit comments to one minute each for people talking about the district as well. And when we're talking
004to each other, please be respectful because, well, I know this community always is. We're going to try to have only one person speaking at a time, and while we're going through the questions and answers, we'll ask the question, it will be answered, and then we have to move on to the next question from the next person who has a question because we want to make sure that they can also make their voice heard. We ask that you share whatever you would like to share in your opening prayer. And while we're here, we may not agree on the ideas, but we're all assuming that we have a unified purpose, a unified goal, and the purpose is once again to listen to the voices. Please keep an open mind, and those people who have already had the
005opportunity to speak, we know these are difficult situations, but we are being honest. Spanish. Oh, where's the equipment? Okay. The team that has the devices for interpretation in Spanish is in the next room and you can use the devices to listen, sir. Yes, we have. Yes, it's just that we run out of things to talk about. We also have your cards, your questions on the cards, which we can also answer. We believe there will be enough conversation here in the group, but we do have those reserved for that. The opportunity, the reason we are here, is for us to understand the changes and to learn more about what is happening. We are always looking for ways to implement and improve things so that they align with your values and the ideas you have shared with
006us in different settings, whether through comment cards or in person. All of them have been considered, and it doesn't mean that all the ideas will be integrated, but I promise you that we have considered them and now we are going to start with the superintendent. I appreciate you being here today. That's what you want. We want families to be here, for the community to participate, and to support the schools. We know it's a difficult conversation, but we'll be here to answer any questions you may have. Well, the answers are still things we have to explore, but I would like to share my appreciation for being here today. We know they took time away from other things they could have been doing. I also want to acknowledge that this is very difficult. This is difficult. I
007know it's an interruption. There is pain in our community and there is real harm that we as a school district are experiencing. I want to admit it. I want you to know that we as a team can't necessarily put ourselves in your shoes, but many of us and many of them in management do understand. I want you to know that. We as a group love our district. I love the school, I love the district. I am doing everything I can to ensure that we are who we need to be to move forward for the next 50 years. And that means sharing this understanding of neighborhood schools. And here in Richtop they have a very strong neighborhood school, no doubt. I've been here for several years, I had friends who came here. I know how amazing
008this school is. I also know that this doesn't exist everywhere in Austin. That's the truth. It isn't. And much of it is due to decisions the district made years, decades ago, but we simply don't have the ability to ensure that all students receive what they need to succeed. We know that all students need something different. So we embarked on this project to ensure that through this work and the steps that follow, we have strong leadership schools everywhere so that students and parents don't feel they have to leave their neighborhood to go to another, stronger school. I want to be very clear. We'll start with the questions and answers in a moment, but I want you to know that you've already heard the things that started this plan . I think you've already noticed them, but
009I'm going to explain what they were in order to discuss the complexity of this plan and to see how everything is intertwined and why we have these recommendations in the draft. The first is that I desperately believe that the aligned referral patterns are something the district needs to review. I'm sorry, I believe it. There's a reason. Because aligned referral patterns have existed for decades from middle school to high school. They do n't see this one in Austin, they see the middle schools that go to two, three, four, or five high schools. And to interrupt that, we require a concrete plan for school boundaries . That was one of the components we wanted to recognize. The second thing is that we wanted to acknowledge the transfers. Our system has many policies and operating procedures from the
010last 20 years that have created inequity, inequities in policies, and we need to review that because it has left our systems unbalanced and in many cases causes harm. And again, these are decades-old policies. Third, we also wanted to review the reality that enrollment in Austin has been declining for many years. At one point, about a decade ago, we had over 80,000 students. Now we only have about 70,000. We have approximately 20,000 free seats . 3,000 more seats than a quarter of a movie theater, but they are all spread across the system. It's not so easy to monitor them. We need to consider the movement of students in order to reduce the number of empty seats. The other thing we also wanted to cover is that we need to review our accountability system . On the
01123rd, the system of the 23rd, 24th, 25th put quite a bit of pressure on our system. If we do not respond to that system of accountability, the risk of state intervention, installing a committee of managers, means that we could lose local control. our committee. We are determined to prevent that from happening, and there are things I would like to have more time for, but the reality is that the State has its own timeline, they have the authority, the power, and we have to respond, and this plan tries to intertwine that so that we can find solutions where we didn't think there were any . The last component, and I think it's very important— a very important reason why we 're here—is alignment with our programs, programs that were built within the Austin district to support
012access to different things. We speak dual language in the Austin district. You hear me, you hear me say how valuable multicultural languages are. But the reality is that some programs, whether they are programs from Guajedual, Montessori, or others that we have in the system, have evolved over time without having a group of students that ensure long-term sustainability, and that is going to suffer. That's the truth. We've seen how the programs move, the positioning, these programs, how they have increased for the students who were originally focused on them. We value giving that access to other people, but it's a matter of policy, of law. It's more about the students. Those are the things we try to weave into this plan. We want to acknowledge the adjustments that have been made to the schedule. We haven't talked
013about it, but the reality is that we have to do something, there's no doubt about it. This plan is not perfect. No plan is perfect. I want to spend time with you. I want to hear your thoughts, your questions, share our answers with you, and what we've learned during this process, and how we can improve. And I want you to know that we are doing this in a very honest way. Seriously, we're trying to find a solution that works, but that doesn't mean we're going to try to avoid interruptions. That's the truth. And I'm happy to start answering questions. We have many people here on our team. Here it is. Then we can begin. I'm not very good at handling people who throw their hands, but Victoria here can help me. Okay. 1, 2, 3,
0141 and then we'll do another round. We've done it before and we want to make sure it's comfortable for you, so that whatever you think it is, makes the most sense. What do you think it's going to be? help. No, there are no lines. Okay, we 've already drawn lines. No, this is... I want you to take care of it. Okay, let's just say that when we have this microphone, it's quieter, the sound is quieter. So please put it near your chin. Superintendent, thank you for being here. I appreciate your summary. I think I'm going to speak for all of us. The Ripstop community, everyone can hear me. Yes, the Ripstop community has tried to be extremely open to these. I think we've collaborated, I think we see his vision, but last year, uh, last
015night, something changed. I heard his vision, but there are three things I also heard. I didn't hear what he said earlier. The first is that they weren't going to let the richest communities with the most money win. The second thing was that you were committed to being transparent with us. The email they sent us last night included a preference for wealthier communities and offered no explanation. And I also think there were some allegations as to why they had, uh, how they had influenced the plan. I believe that the people here in this room can tell you that I have been one of your greatest lawyers, and I feel personally ashamed and disappointed. And I would like to hear some of those plans so that we can bring that transparency back and share with us what
016happened and where we ended up last night. Yes, I really appreciate the comment. I know that many of you don't know me well, but there are some here who do. And what I'm going to tell you is that I'm someone who believes in the process, in ethics, and in being transparent about the processes that lead to results. Maybe we don't agree with those results, but we can understand how we got to that result, and we did it with integrity at every step . Then I will support that plan. I'm going to tell you what prompted the change in the timeline. It's a change in chronology. I emphasize, this is not a chronology of the plan to the change of plan, but rather an acknowledgment of the things that caught my attention and also the trustees.
017It was n't just me making that decision or my recommendation. I was sure I would vote on the 20th, and I'm 100% prepared and ready. But the truth is, I believe in the process, and when it became clear to me that refining the process, the community feedback, which requires time, energy, and resources to analyze, was possibly— or rather, it became clear to me that perhaps it was n't being evaluated in the correct way I anticipate it should be in order to make an informed decision—because I wanted to make this process a little more carefully to ensure that everything was okay on my end, but when it comes to us refining and making changes to the plan, I have to receive that information, I have to make the adjustments, and move forward. You said something about
018the loudest voices. There are many very loud voices everywhere. There are many people all the time who are sharing their ideas and perspectives with me. They love their communities and there are still voices and communities here that... voices here in the community that perhaps others would be that are very strong. So this wasn't what drove this, but what changed the momentum of the timeline is protecting the process with maximum integrity. I will never be part of something that doesn't guarantee that we reach the end, that I feel comfortable with having that result. If that were the case, I believe there would be a different outcome, but that's not what he saw. Instead, he saw those schools that weren't tied to those automatic movements or plans, but rather to a balanced enrollment, not just a PS,
019and other schools that I think you're mentioning. I said, you know what? We are here for the community, for those schools, and regarding those concerns, and we do that work with everything else, including the borders. That's what happened. That's the honest truth, there isn't a bone in my body that I don't believe we have to get there and do it properly. Uh, I'm not going to support a plan that doesn't do that. What specifically do you want to know? No, it was n't about loud voices, but that's how it works when things are like this. That's what I say to communities of individuals. If there are ideas and plans that move us toward the goal and don't simply say no, because there are many ideas and questions, what if we don't do this? How about
020this plan? So I'm going to sit here and say, "Yes, I can support this or not this. No. As far as I can support something, then I can do the analysis to move forward. That's how it has to work when it comes to this community and all communities. We've been receiving feedback. I know we have n't had this meeting, we did receive this data, but it's not the only time we 've received feedback from this community. We've been listening, and they've been sharing, and we've tried to refine and adjust to move forward. Excuse me, can't you hear me there? No, I 'm not saying I'm not receiving feedback now. I'm saying that once different ideas or strategies were shared with me, they required this diligence and time to explore, and I wasn't sure that each
021of those ideas, those that I felt could be explored to meet my expectations. I know you don't agree with me, but that's exactly what actually happened. I mean, that's how it happened. You trust me. I'm not alone in this. I can't share transparency. What's going on here?" Yes, I try to be like the audience. That's what he said. Um, yes, transfer is something I really strive to do, but as I said, there's research and things happening. I'm not going to talk about that, about the examples or ideas. I want to share with you that I strive to do this the right way, and the moment I think there's some aspect of it—not the entire work itself, but any element within it—that isn't meeting my expectation, I have to slow it down . You're asking us
022to trust you, but you broke our trust. You broke that trust. He responds, "The way you lose trust is by doing something that isn't aligned with who we are and the values we stand for." And I'm the person responsible for ensuring that this work is carried out correctly. I never want to look back . And there are 70,000 students; there's a lot going on. This has to happen. We're going to move forward to two and three. I'd like to acknowledge that there are some things that are in process right now. that are not disposable. So what we're running into are those barriers, right? So that's why we have a, uh, a little meeting number two. I'm going to number two. A gentleman stands up. Very good. Everyone listen to me. I think I can help
023you with the answer from earlier. You changed the plan because that's what the committee is going to approve for the votes. And I think the way I appreciate it is to be a little more honest about this conversation, which is about the Austin district and this bringing down the entire state. How do you really think that in 5 years this isn't going to happen again? And second, the board also deserves our trust, and, actually, excuse me, excuse me. I'm going to speak on behalf of Adventists who have daughters in the district who love the district more than I love it. I truly love it more than you know. Yes, our trustees care deeply about this district. I'm going to tell you that I've observed other school districts—you see them everywhere, all around us—how our Trustees.
024They're philosophically aligned. Maybe they disagree on how we get there, but they're all focused on ensuring their students receive what they need to succeed. I work very closely with them, and I promise you, what you don't want is for someone to have that kind of local control over you. It's happening in Fruitworth, and it's brutal. And this isn't just about the state taking control of everything. We have to think about the whole package, not just one aspect. But the budget is also part of it. Now, the budget, ultimately , if you take it too far, then yes, there can be a risk of the state taking control. Anything taken too far like that, right? But I want to be very clear, this Ronilla board, they're not paid, they care. There are like 1,000 examples of
025them having integrity, and I want you to know they're working very hard. I trust them. Um, I, as superintendent, as someone else, trust them. Part of the problem is the lack of decisions over the last 20 years. I mean, it's been disturbance after disturbance since '23. In fact, before that, it wasn't possible for us to move forward properly when everything was urgent, which has been the case for the last four years, the pandemic. Yes, of course, that happened to everyone, but then we went through three superintendents in a year and a half. The executive leadership... we lost three principals in '24, hired in about a year. That affects, of course, the classrooms and everything, among the teachers and the principals and everything. Of course, we've seen the investigation, and it is something serious, but we
026have seen the recovery. Everything is moving in the right direction. We are all in order. We have seen the reelection issue, the tax pressures, the pressures from the state, and other things. I am drastically trying to take this next step, and maybe this process is two-sided , but we've been around for over 144 years, and we've been here a long time, and we're going to... be here much longer, but I do believe this plan reduces the risk in the system overall. It doesn't mean we won't be here again having difficult conversations, but I think because of the work we've done so far, this plan is going to reduce that drastically. And I'll also say that if the state of Texas wanted to take action against the Austin district, they've had avenues to do so. What
027I want to say is that there is real evidence that we are moving our systems, but we're doing it our way. I just gave you some data that shows that. The results are showing that. They see it, we understand it, and it has allowed us more time and more time and more time and more improvements. Um, 30 FS in 2023, 29 in 2024, but I remember, but a lot of that was produced by a system that was long before our trustees, so I feel very strongly that we can move forward in the right direction. Thank you for being here. First of all, if one part of the process breaks down, it doesn't It assumes the whole process breaks down, and why not halt the entire process until we're 100% certain of the progress? You heard
028about this refinement earlier, right? Refinement. Because of the size of this effort, we had to do something that impacted 116 schools. The reality is that when we receive feedback, whether it's a boundary change or this limit in Austin or a program change in Austin, I'm committed to doing the work to ensure those refinements are considered, evaluated, and we can take the next step to support them. So everything, right? Refinements, yes. What's happening right now when it comes to some of the elements of the plan requires that kind of work, and proportionally, I could ensure that every aspect that's presented by the community can be presented. And for that, I think it's okay, okay, or not. Okay, two questions. If we continue with your plan, which we chose for the teachers and incredible leadership, we haven't
029been disappointed with the relationships with the principals, and excuse me, no I'm listening to what you're saying. Can you please share more details about who will be there? Oh, how it will be in the school district, and what the staffing will be like. Specifically, if Ms. SHs will be our principal, and if we're going to transition as well. And I just want to ask the second question, and then you can put it all together. We've heard a lot in the news about consolidation, pollination, and then coming to talk about those things, and it's hard to hear what's going on . It was encouraging to see that the community was highlighted, stood out, but we were reminded about the strong leadership for incoming students, and we know that it currently offers food banks, mental health services,
030and housing. The question is, will those services remain at the school for all students after the consolidation, and for students who choose to go to another school, will similar supports be available at those schools? I'm going to answer the first thing. I'm going to say that when it comes to hiring, I've been very clear, I don't want We don't want anyone to feel like they're leaving , or to think that our administration, which I consider... well, we're going to fire a lot of people. There was a comment a few months ago that said we were going to fire a lot of people, but that's not what we were trying to do. Fortunately, because of all the people we hire every day, we can absorb and move staff. Yes, it's necessary. And I say, yes, it's
031necessary when we have transitions like Rich Top. We're anticipating that we're going to have the new principal here on campus in December, and that's done strategically so that we can identify the staff who have to support the new school. When we have schools that are merging, my intention is that all our students have familiar faces, that the community, that the families know who's going to support their families, and who better than the people who were in the program where the students were previously? And that's our strategy. With all the principals, we've had those strategies, and that's between her and me. She's a fantastic leader, she has fantastic staff. I want all the staff to stay in the district. Austin, and as it will look, it's going to be a mix. I can't give you a
032percentage because I also want the students coming from Picol to see familiar faces, but they'll also have other opportunities in the area. So I can't say exactly who the principal will be because that's going to be a process and a conversation that still needs to happen. But where they want to go, I want to go there too, but there's a process we have to go through. I want our staff to be supported during this transition, and I don't know if you know, but we talked about the staffing achievements in December . I 'm trying to make sure we consider those people who are making these transfers. If someone wants to leave the district, that's fine, we'll support them, but we're not going to hire anyone from outside the district until we're ready to return to
033their original location. I think what you're seeing, I'd also like to be able to achieve, but I can't give you a 100% answer because we still have to go through the process. The second part of that question, what is the second part? The services, support for students. One of the things we talked about is that we want to make sure the services meet the needs of the students. We try to identify what the needs of the community are. If we need, uh, food, a food pantry, we do it. That changes. And if the needs of the students change, we have to say, "Well, this is something that's happening differently." We will follow their leadership, but we want to ensure that we give more support to any community that needs it. It's not how we're going
034to give them to you, but it will be part of the transition plan from now on . We need to bring the communities together, we need to plan, we need to do what the school is going to do. But if most of the students move to Pec and overwhelm all the people who need those services there, how are they going to receive those services? No no. We are inviting, welcoming the families of Picol. We are trying, our goal is to move that emerging bilingual population. We are providing transportation; we have already made that change. We are trying to ensure access to a larger campus. We have a lot of flexibility in how we support both student populations. And I think this is something very different that we are seeing in this primary, which is not
035seen in the other primaries. We do not believe that any school, any school community, should not feel welcome in the community where they have been. But I also want Richop to feel welcome. We need to bring everyone together and make the plan together. We've already done this with Richard Sims, with Sánchez, things that have happened in the past, from which we have learned and things from which we have learned and will never do again . So, we are waiting for the process to be completed. Hello, I am a dad from this neighborhood. Also all our dads here in the neighborhood. Thank you all for being here. That was a very good question to ask now. Our director has already informed us that she is going to Picol. We already know this, right? But it makes
036sense. A strong bilingual teacher going to a new school makes sense. And the survey has told us that the transfer of students to families will continue. Yes, he's going there and it makes sense and I agree with that. They should help the parents who live in the area who want to walk their children to school. Our community is already being destroyed; we already have many transfers, so we need to remove this band-aid. Why does n't the district allow families in the neighborhood to have a choice, to have that priority to be able to choose any school instead of going directly to a school that doesn't have these resources, not to transfer with the Rop community, right? so they can go wherever they want. Yes, because otherwise, where are we going to go? Rally has no
037plan. And if they reunify us, why am I staying in the Austin district? We're talking about vertical teams. Let's talk about your question. Is that something we could consider for a process, a transition period? We need to say, for example, that if the fourth and fifth grade children are in second, first, second, third grade, we could create a transition plan, a transformation plan so that those schools, that community, don't choose to go to Riley or go to Picol. I do n't know if it's something we can't do. If it's clear that, for example, if you choose a school that 's very far away, we probably won't be able to give you access, but not transportation because sometimes the question becomes, "Are they going to give us transportation and I want to make this decision better."
038And if we can do these kinds of things , we will. We're going to talk to Victoria to see what we can do to make these kinds of adjustments. We'll see what timeline is appropriate for that transition to happen, and obviously when I'm at that new school we'll be tracking the transfer, but I will acknowledge that it may be something we can work on. I do n't know who's next. Victory. We have our last set, 1 2 3 4 5 six. And then we'll do another round. Hello good morning. I am too, I come from a family in the neighborhood. I have a question. In the most recent revision, the sixth grade program was removed, and my question would be about a school zone boundary . Would it be possible for the district to consider
039reassigning the entire hide park so that we can be with our friends and continue building our community? I understand that they didn't want to separate communities, but it's already happening and we support the dual language program going to Piccol. Part of my family's values is how easy and accessible it is to walk, go to school by bike. So, I love this location, but what matters most to me is the location in the schools, and I want the district to consider the impact not just of the name, but of the friends, the buildings, the community that they are losing. But we're also losing that; we're losing the ability to walk to school because it's not easy to get to Riley. I just want to make sure I'm understanding your question correctly. Give me the area. No,
040well, I'd like to propose, and I can't speak for everyone, but the areas that consider us, or well, that might give us the option, I think I can find more information through this, but I'm asking for Richop. I can give preferential registration to have visibility in the system and I would like to understand why if that is not possible and then go from there. Yes, I think we're not there either; it depends on the number because it always ends up being things they assume. Matías, there are people and families who will want to leave the district. This number of families that are going to Picol, another number of families that are going to go to another place. I believe that from a transfer perspective, it can be done. When we identify a school, we have
041to create something; we have to assume something in order to protect that school. The Sixtock kids are coming out of the very large number; it's a small group, and it's one of the few schools that has it after Blazer. We tried sixth grade in East Austin, and then like Mendez and Martin High Schools, we're not equipped to provide that experience, but I think we can probably do this for transfer priority. I'm worried about naming a school because then I'll have to guarantee seats and it might impact its capacity and any of the groups that are going to enter with school zone limits. So, I don't want to commit because schools are going through a transition period. We can support the transfer process in a way that allows us to keep your expectations in mind. Everyone
042here can go to this school, but not everyone. It might be something we can do, and I just want to—excuse me for interrupting—but these are valuable ideas, and we're definitely going to review them again. But without reviewing all the data and implications, we can't make any commitments here today. The commitment is that we're going to write it down, we're going to talk about it, and we're going to see what the limits are of what's possible in order to help as many people as possible. I'd like to understand what the school zone boundary would look like in Heide Park, because I believe it's already been redesigned to have fewer students. I'd like to understand why, what it will look like. Yes. And we have a group working on reviewing all the school zone attendance boundaries, and
043they've modeled software, and they click here and something happens. Clicking here causes something else to happen, and it's something we still need to discuss. We've been working on whether we need to say no or make adjustments, and we're going to maintain that same commitment. Yes. And I think being able to access it on foot is part of those factors. When we talk about accessing the school by walking, not all schools have that, but you do have it here, but it doesn't exist everywhere. But there are schools where it doesn't exist and there are people who can only drive instead of walking, but we want to understand the community context for walking not being a factor until we get to the school level. And then we say what adjustments we need to make to ensure that
044the community can respond to the specific aspects. For example, here, walking 290, uh, a very large road, has an intersection, we have to provide transportation to cross it, but because we are changing the boundaries, there will be new routes that were not previously on our approved list because those intersections were part of that school and now they are not. So I'm going to say yes, but we have to review the context, not just because a school is easy to access, because there are schools that are the opposite. Number two. Oh, I'm also a zoning student and I want to reiterate that there is no plan for Riley, that the local families. We have been very reasonable, and all we want is for the district to recognize that Riley is a very unique situation, and that
045you are paying attention to that and that you are going to give Riley additional support. Excuse me, because the email they sent us last night said that we shouldn't ask for too much, ask for excessive things. I want a decision, but I think it has to be fair. Yes, thank you for sharing. My answer there would be, excuse me, not to be so intentional regarding Riley's structure. And I'm also going to say that I want to share with you that we have other schools that are starting over and I want to have conversations with the leadership and the schools because we need to think about Riley and the Riley movement. That principal will have a decision to make or not to make, and that will greatly influence where the starting point is for that school.
046That's the truth. And you're right. Riley is the only school. It is a different situation that is undergoing a program change, this community school will have when that becomes a reality. So a unique option in Riley because the way I think about it, Riley educators and administrators, many, but not all, Rob, the administrators and this staff here, many are going to move to P, so the best place regionally and from a community perspective for them to join. Yes, it would be at Riley School, that would be ideal, but I can't. That's what I'm thinking about and we're spending time like that, but I can't share those steps because we don't have a vote, we don't have a principal, but that's what I would anticipate happening. So what I can do after this conversation is share
047with you the thinking we have, deep down, that we've discussed regarding Riley externally because I don't want to get ahead of these things that are very much set in stone, like votes, hiring directors, and all this kind of thing, because as soon as I say that, it's going to be an assumption because, okay, the Riley people are going or they're not going, but it's a difficult place, but I will commit to providing more information on how we're going to be thinking about making this work because I think in the Richop and Riley families, you'll see familiar faces. That has always been the goal. In fact, we have thought about that. Yes, we need our educators if it's going to work. So thank you for the comment. I could have done a better job. Excuse me
048if we have other schools that are restarting, but they are under pressure and at risk of needing more money, resources, and support. Any transaction will be supported by the district. That's the truth. We have a plan, let's execute it. Execute it, sorry. That's where you'll find me, this is a sure thing. We're excellent at making these plans, we're excellent at that in terms of district, so we have to be very careful about these implementations. Delaying them until spring or something like that isn't going to help the transition. I want to spend time thinking about supporting our school staff and improving things because that's how it has to happen and we have to go through this evolution. Regarding transition planning, I wanted to share the pre-planning, all of this because it has been a reflection on
049where these adjustments have been made along the way. There are going to be adjustments to this registration plan regarding limits and borders; there have been many adjustments. So in what we are planning for any kind of transition, we have taken into account that we should not shut things down too soon in order to be able to respond to those transitions. So there hasn't been a transition plan released, because if we released it with the first plan, then it would have had to be completely changed for the second plan, and then we're going to continue having these plan changes now too. But those conversations and things have been under discussion, and the structures are being built flexibly so that when the concept is really more concrete and we know what we're going to do, we can
050use those structures to quickly implement the details as well. So those things have been happening. Riley has not been ignored or this was unplanned, nothing like that. There are simply elements, both internal and external, that influence communication. So I hear the superintendent, Sid, saying that we can open that door, but also know that we will be held accountable for any changes that may occur. And we are building bridge teams to support a transition. Sta also said that he is helping to make that work. We want to be intentional. If we owe this to you, let's clarify more about this, because I can understand how it feels, how one feels invisible. We are also a family in the neighborhood community. This little triangle here, this doesn't make sense. If I had 24 directors hired in the
051last year, right? When I arrived here in the year 22324 because we have those types of vacancies in 232223 before we entered. Clearly this is a program that works, so why are we trying to write this and that and all that? When I spoke with them about the pillars of the program or the goals of the system for better improvement, we are talking about dual language and what we know is that the program was built to ensure that the focus was on bilingual students, but we believe in access for other students, which has made Rubard successful, but the reality is that the number of bilingual children who are accessing this program is declining and it is happening quite rapidly among the dual language programs, 14, 22 and 44, and it is going down more and
052more. So the way you build, you can build this healthy model for those who are already bilingual and those who are emerging bilingual, that has a program for students and we know where our students live as emerging bilinguals and yet they are not accessing, using that program even with all that work, it is 14, 21, 22% that is being used. And the reality is that the state of Texas has changed the law. Our policy on how we respond will require us to move certified dual- language teachers to where they belong very soon in the future. And we are all fighting for these educators, these important, trained ones. And the important thing is that if we don't make any changes by law, I'm going to be required to remove those educators. So I'm trying to position
053the program so that we don't have to do that, because we have a healthy balance that aligns with the law, with our policies. We have 16 of us with this alternative certification in the 20 years 27, 28 and 29. Ah, I think it's 12 or 16% of our teachers have alternative certifications. As you can imagine, we are having a very big difficulty in terms of staff and students in dual language and this program is only going to interact more because we do not have a sufficient student population to support it by law. So that's why it 's different from the inscription of equilibrium, which does not have the issue of stability. registration. Now, I'm super frustrated, I'm very upset that I have to make this change in terms of the timeline, but these programs, the
054plan, it still remains, it still aligns with who we are. I evaluate the work and I feel confident in the work and I have to make refinements and adjustments, but that's what has to happen, not for any other reason, but it's a matter of the function of emerging bilingual students and fighting for them in the years to come. Sorry, I can barely hear you. 40% live here in the area, 60% are transferred. Now, those who are emerging as bilinguals, if you want to pass this on to where that program can increase those numbers, is that what you're telling me. We know that over time, as programs change, we've seen changes in leadership, haven't we? We have seen how something as simple as the director changing can then drastically change the program. So, there are four
055programs that are complete, that is, fully serviced. We are trying to stabilize the program so that collectively we can reach 50/50 in terms of those who are bilingual and those who are not bilingual or working on it, but rather issues of time in both languages. It doesn't have to be precise, but I want you to know that everything has to work together for us to succeed. And 44% now and in schools they are at 24 and 22 and 14%. There are 14 of us. Riley is 44. So there are 14 of us. I ca n't hear her here. Excuse me. We need to ensure that there is access for everyone. Families decide to come to Ridop, which allows transfers, but that won't guarantee access for those students. The way to do that is to position
056the program and provide transportation. The last thing I had was that if they were intentionally adjusting the limits, we could also adjust the secondary limits. It's very difficult to hear her. Excuse me, I can't hear your question very well. In the letter, the last time we talked about this, about raising that in the spring, after all that, about doing the division because the borders, the patterns of feeding the students, other areas, this, they're not going to move forward now in the fall because of the board. So I can't say that this limit or this border or something like that can't be changed. Uh, the goal was to reduce the number of students in our schools to no less than two leaving. That was the goal. Now we have four or five high schools. That's not
057what we want. That's going to be encouraged because we have to approach this differently to get where we need to be. That's why we're going to start this in the spring. Uh, progress over time and come back. And then when it comes to Doby, there are many amazing schools that are doing amazing things. The truth is that I'm discouraged that if I have to go to this school, the families have to be what's best for their students, but there are many great and excellent things happening within schools, no matter which one is lame. And there are communities with whom he has had these kinds of talks, just like this one, that are waiting on him for these things. That's going to be another conversation, and that's when those changes happen. And we've been reviewing this,
058uh, when the school splits, because it's a conflict in the principles that guide us. If they want us to not isolate so many schools, but we have to cut off the community, it's impossible because somehow we're going to create these cuts. We have here this member of the community and then we're going to do another round. My initial question was about Riley and the staffing. I wanted to make a comment. I would tell you and your staff to think about how you can provide additional clarification regarding last night's email, because the way it appeared, and I believe it creates a credibility issue, because it seems that what you 're doing, especially related to Breaker and Maplewood, doesn't align with your values. And while we don't have to address it in this room right now, we
059do need to think about how you can provide more clarification on any issues you're dealing with. I think that would be a good thing to do for them. I'm trying to believe you, I don't use GPT chat. Thank you for being here. I just want to say that I personally understand and appreciate what you're saying about changing these dual-language programs to the communities that need them. I understand, I appreciate it, and I believe there are parents who are part of these programs who also understand it, and that's why I want to be committed to making those changes with our programs. But what worries me, especially with Pickle, is funding for Pickle Primary. From what I've read, it sounds like the schools that are going to be given a transformation plan will be given additional funding.
060I had also heard that some high school teachers are going to receive extra money for working in schools that are having these transformation plans. Although those plans will be in place, there won't be a transformation plan that will go to... So, it means that the school won't be given additional funding, and understand that they are asking our community to make big decisions and they are asking administrators and teachers to choose to stay with this program or be part of this program, to take this new action which is monumental. Interrupting this magic that happens is something that will take a lot of time, commitment, and a lot of hard work from our teachers and administrators. I know that the school will not be given the funds they need to be able to have that commitment to
061the school and will not have the funds they need to be able to build programs like the ones we have here in Rich Top. If the school does not qualify for these additional funds, why not partner it with the transformation plan that the Austin district is going to implement to provide it with more funding? Well, I want to clarify what we have clearly outlined in our transformation plan: how are we going to distribute the funds? It doesn't mean we don't have the ability to provide those funds in the plans. That's why, in these staffing plans, we said, "This is the plan for this movement. This is the plan for consolidation, this is the transformation plan for the school that is going to be transformed." And Picle and Wuten are two Ace schools. Well, it depends
062on how you look at it, but our students need the resources, no matter where they are. I am committed; if we have a plan, I will provide resources for those plans. When it comes to bonds, it's very difficult for me to commit to anything so early because we have limited funds. Because something this gentleman had said is that the risks we are trying to mitigate are the risks of the budget. If there's a plan, I'll give it the resources. I understand that transitions will happen, and what I cannot commit to doing is continuing after that transition period . That is the goal, but we cannot continue applying those resources in this amount and not see a response in terms of the school stabilizing. So, we need to ensure that the resources we do have are
063sufficient. For example, right now DOBIT Burnet and Web are giving these schools a boost, and we have to do it. But whatever we commit to doing in this plan or the next transformation plan, I'm going to give it the resources, and I'm cutting funds wherever I can, and there's nothing fixed to give money to. If you were to ask me, "Matías, where are the 88,000,800,000 that are going to be given to Picol?" No, no, that's not the way because it's not part of the transformation plan. What we need to do is say, there are ENOL students who also need support. That's what we'll be able to pay. And that plan has to be the basis of the question, not what we had to do for the transformation plans you're talking about, because that has a
064different level of risks and requirements. So, we need to be very clear from the beginning about what that was. If we are going to give them the funds, we are going to make the plan. I am going to come back with the team to say what language needs to be communicated. I don't want you to leave here today thinking that I can commit to a certain amount, but I want to acknowledge that where the children are and where their needs are, that is where we are going to give them the resources. And we are paying attention to this. The district is saying that we have to make these changes because we do n't have adequate funds, because we have a difficult financial situation , but we are making these changes. So, show us that you're
065really going to give those schools funding. And the thing is, I don't want to be part of programs that aren't sustainable, that 's the truth. I have programs where we have students who stay there in a 4-year program. Or did a leader change, the director change, or did the leadership change in the district? I want to find those programs that we believe in, make sure they are sustainable, and give them the appropriate funding. And the commissioners will see this. They ask me, they tell me, "Matías, we've been doing these things for the last 20 years. We have several programs; you can go to any school, you'll find 20 different programs. But the question is, do these programs still align with the needs of our students? And are they still meeting the needs of the students?"
066We talk about this quite a bit, but to get back to your point, we're going to fund those things that align with our values. Yes, we have resource issues, but we do have dollars to give to our students and our programs, because that's where the money should be going. That's where the money should be going. What I can do is work with the team to see what would be an appropriate consideration, where we are based on where we are in the plan, to review what the community is going to see. Yes. Well, part of the district's values is how we're going to be able to support our emerging bilingual population. So, please prove to us, show us that this is what you want to do for the schools, because that's going to make a huge
067difference to many people. Parents who can't switch to this program. We want to make sure the school can survive us when we leave and that our kids grow up with those programs, those teachers, those administrators having the things they need to succeed. Yes, that's a good point. I want that too. Yes. And we've already taken a lot of questions from the front, so we're going to go back here. One, two, three, four. One of the people—I'm usually one of the quieter people in the room—but I just want to say that I didn't know you , but I appreciate you being here. I appreciate that you have kids in the school district. My brother was a teacher in Maple and then he went to [unclear]. So I got to see that it was a diverse school
068before we moved to a different neighborhood. And on Friday, I'm going to be one of your substitute nurses. I want you to know that a big part of this is that we want to know about the plans, the academic issues, by listening to Trustee Hunter and the other people on the podcasts, and they want to see that too, and I hope we can see that as well. And yes, I would also like to know more about what was happening with those other schools when we are allowed to, and I have a lot of faith here. And the other thing is, especially yesterday with our votes, is that we were n't leaving the district, but that's a very big part of the problem we 're going through right now, and I'm here long-term because I believe
069in public education, in dual language education, and also, I don't live in this neighborhood. I have cousins here, and we used to play in the playground at Richop, but to change the subject. Maybe we can have a meeting to talk with the parents who have other concerns and give them more time. Thank you for your comment. You are amazing. I would say, I think it's a very good idea. I think it is a good idea to clear this up and create another space to have this conversation, and for the families who are interested in Riley's transition, we can have another conversation as we move forward in the process for Picle. I am very happy to create that space with the team. There are many things happening in Texas, and if last night and Everything, everything
070is still happening. I want you to know that I am committed to the district. I love this district. I want to do what I can to ensure that the transitions are very considerate. And what gives me anxiety is just continuing to delay the voting because there are several schools on this list, and it's very difficult to say, but we ca n't continue without moving forward. When it comes to academic affairs plans, it's something we talk about quite a bit, and I always want to ask that when we say that, what does it mean in your mind? What are your visions, and what plans are you thinking about? Because about two years ago, we were looking at how to build it. The district had a strategy—I don't know if you knew this—but it started in 2020
071and went until 2025. It was a list that included the vision, mission, a list of strategies, and none of them could be implemented; they were just generalized strategies that came out after the pandemic. We worked and worked, and then in 2023, we saw how we were going to start a portrait of those who had graduated. And you know, I was on the podcast last night, we were talking about attitude. We want students who advocate for themselves, students who understand what it's like to talk to someone who doesn't look like them. We want students to feel comfortable failing with us, because we're going to pick them up and support them and take them to the next thing . But it has to be our way. What is our way? Listen, we always say this in the
072district, we always value the ladies who work in the library. We're always going to support them and we're going to support reading. We pay the nurses. It's not something that's required by law, but we have to find the funding to do it. And something we almost never talk about is the curriculum. You know, do you know that 8 million—that's what we spend a year—to have a curriculum that aligns with our values? Because there are several curricula that are cheaper, but they don't align. I promise you, if that's what we wanted... We could save money, we could choose, but we'd have a room full of people saying, "That's not what we want." We protect planning time in high schools. Is it all quantified in one document? Shouldn't we do it? Yes, but as we move forward,
073because we had a plan 18 months ago to create a profile of those who had graduated, to have a mission and vision for our graduating students, but we had teachers going in all different directions, creating model after model after model, and we were doing levels of different levels to see where the students were, what interventions we needed to add. All of that was happening at the same time, and it was all with the same people. So, when we started this work, the trustees and I had this conversation where we said, "Yes, we're going to do this, but we're not going to start from something we don't know." We are doing this without our north star, but we have to quantify, we have to say who we are, what our vision is in early flow. We
074have already made changes there because we have already adopted certain behaviors. We have moved our strongest teachers to the third grade, because if the students are already in third grade and we haven't built a system from a young age, we changed this mission, we changed the way we worked in kindergarten one and two, to be very intentional, to have the appropriate material. We need to improve the system so that we can respond to the needs of students early on. If we have the students here in the system, we need to see where they are, what level they are at, and what interventions we need to apply. We have the curriculum in place to use these interventions, and if so, the system suddenly starts to respond, and we are seeing that now. So let's do that
075job. We're going to tell the trustees, the superintendent of academic affairs for grades 8-12 is going to be an incredible individual. She's been with us for many years, she knows the job, we respect her, and I'm very sure that as we go through this semester, you'll see her values reflected in her document. We already have documents that have been uploaded, but that will take 18 months to respond. There's a lot going on, a lot of things we've been going through, and it's been difficult to create these spaces because it's been one emergency after another , but this is how we're handling it from now on. Was there anything else? Hi, I'm Alex Tabona and I'm a mom of three little boys and I'm a fifth grade teacher. I guess I have a million things I'd
076like to say, but I think as a mother, my journey to find a homeschool—we started in Riley, went to a charter school, moved back to Brentwood, this Austin district was very tumultuous—and I think this is the first time we've felt calm and like, ah, here's our town. Ah, this is what a good quality school looks like. I think I'm going to get nervous and I think there's a lot at stake here. I've been following this issue somewhat obsessively. I watch their YouTube show, I watch all the meetings, and I attend the Zoom meetings, and it makes me uneasy. My husband is also a dual language teacher at our elementary school. He is the head of the board of directors and we share with many families. I am very concerned about how this is going to
077play out for teachers. I don't know if the staffing plan, this is according to what the director said, this is a market for teachers and they are not being treated as employees of the Austin district. I get my paycheck from this district, but I'm an employee of Rown and they're closing my school and I don't know where I'm going to be working next school year. And the reality is that if we're going to represent Ridp and we're going to represent Pel, there's not enough room for everyone there. And if we're going to represent Richop in Riley and then represent Riley in Riley, our community is falling apart and that's a reality and parents need to know that reality and also a tiny asterisk. The most I like about working here is that I get to
078ride this pretty big, three-mile road with two second and third graders on bikes and I've said, "Okay, let's go to Peco to go bike riding. We try to cross I-35 and everything." And I said, "Okay, here I am. This is crazy, this is crazy. People are looking at me like , what is that woman doing with those three kids? And that's where our home is going to be. Okay. I can swallow that pill, but I can't swallow the pill of 'Tell me we're all going to be on the chopping block,' and 'Tell me that when the numbers do n't come out the way you want them to , you're not going to switch me and send me to the other side of the school because I work in the Austin school district .' Thank you
079for being yourself. Thank you for sharing. And one last thing I forgot to say. I think it's imperative that you include the teacher's voice on some of these meetings. To be part of that board, there needs to be representation from schools and teachers from schools that are being impacted. And how are we going to feel comfortable, how are we going to go about it , what needs to be taken into account because it's a teacher marketplace. Very good. Yes, you've been watching everything, Becker. Yes, I'm paying attention, sir. My first comment and response is if anyone thinks that we As administrators or as trustees, we don't understand how incredibly important our teachers are. I need to review how I'm communicating because since we came together, everything we 've tried to do is try to achieve
080balance, bring these professionals and teachers into this workforce, and increase benefits. When it comes to leveling based on placement, we've done so much more. We're protecting schools as best we can, and only when we reach a point where we can't make it work do we make those adjustments. You don't see those boards. I know there are a lot of families, but Brady Hosak, myself, the chief administrator, and CF, who is one of the principal administrators, are balancing everything based on student and teacher numbers, always trying to keep in mind that that teacher in that space is something we care about and something we have to preserve. I've really been very intentional about how we support our teachers, and I've been very clear about how we're going to do it . It's true, intentionality, and the
081boards must have the voice of the Teachers. I know that Brand K and the team on this strategy need to meet with all the staff. I don't know if it's happened yet, but yes, we are going to do it. They're going to go back and meet with all the staff specifically. I'll find out when that will happen, so we want to make sure you're supported, and there's a survey to hear if other teachers have different perspectives and want other things. So I can commit to you that we will have the teacher's voice . That's what we plan to do. And then the meeting where the strategy in the schools will talk with all the staff together. I'll find out how much that will be, but as a commitment, we're definitely doing that because I want
082to make sure that voice is added to the whole process. I think that happened at the conference. Many teachers were there at the conferences. So I think we need to go back and talk. I don't know how much they knew, but if we can find out. And to be clear about the number of teachers, I also want to say that Travis used those words. I love our teachers. My mom She's been teaching here for 42 years. I love them. I want to protect our teachers because they are professionals, and nothing in our school system is going to work without them . And I also want to make it very clear that I'm going to do my best, but it's not going to be perfect for every single person. It's just not going to happen. There
083may be a point where we have two schools and more teachers than we need in this school zone, and that's why, as a matter of process, we wanted to use that teacher's input to determine where we can place her, and use the authority I have to ensure she has the place. I would never say this, but you are an employee of this Austin school district. But if you don't find a place, I have to find one for you, and I'm going to do everything I can to find you what I can because I don't want you to leave the Austin school district. That's the truth. That's why we're not hiring anyone else until we open. I do n't know who's next. Good morning, thank you for being here. My question is, you already spoke about
084this. Previously, I'd like to have some clarity on the specifics of the issue we're facing with closing ROP and moving there. I'm so impressed with how our community has responded to the idea that there are students who need this program and want to be close to them. But there's a question about how much thought we've given to preparing for these changes and designing them, and how rushed we are. You talked about changes in Texas law that are relevant to this and perhaps to our timeline. Maybe you could elaborate on that. Beyond that, I'd like to better understand your vision for dual language, and here's the thinking. When we talk about Richmond, we have 40% bilinguals and 14% emerging bilinguals. We're using the term "emergent bilinguals" in a certain way, and we've moved from a previous
085designation, which was those who are learning English. I think there were more of these, and we've moved beyond the term " emergent bilinguals" because we decided that being bilingual is a good thing, that the Spanish language is something we value as a community, and We don't want to think in terms of deficit because of what we have. You, you may not be that proficient, but the way the law names and designates students, it says, "You're not proficient in English, you're deficient." I have students in my class, in my classroom. We all have people who are bilingual in particular ways. They have one parent who speaks Spanish and one who speaks English, and they have the right to a bilingual education, and our district's policies recognize this asset they are entering into their studies. Ultimately, each
086of the students is an emerging bilingual, because we are all going through the experience of what it's like to be outside our linguistic comfort zone and see people who are different from us and who are not like us. I am very much in favor of having more Spanish-speaking students at home who have to build that English language, but I would really like to have a specification of your vision. and how it aligns with those values and not necessarily the values that this euphemism of emerging bilinguals drags along with other things. So, what are the specific specifications and problems we're facing? Ah, ask about the "How sustainable is the program?" And what this is are punctures in the standardized tests that are low for children who are named as emerging bilinguals, but there are other factors
087that are actually affecting their academic performance. But I would like to have more of this information, but I can imagine that this big change is something I'm willing to let happen, but I want some clarity about it. I'm going to begin, and then it's our leader in quality education, and I'm going to allow him to speak. I want to make that clear. The state defines it in this way. That's how I have to respond. We can grasp these ideas, but ultimately when it comes to how our students are coded. And I say this because we have to code each of our students in our system in a way that identifies which student is receiving which support and hopefully is receiving all the services they are receiving, bilingual services, etc., etc. And when they use that
088word, that's why they're using that word, because there are funds associated with these emerging dual-language and bilingual programs. The emerging bilingual student defines it in a certain way, not strictly as defined by the state, but as defined by the state. I think we 're all aware of how that needs to be. When you talk about the problems we 're trying to solve, I want to find solutions that deal with several things simultaneously. We have 116 schools. This is one of 116. I have to think about all 70,000 students and also be very responsive to the students who are here at RP Elementary. So the problems we want to solve require us to reduce the number of these unoccupied seats. To vacate our dependency on spaces that are super expensive where to operate the portable places,
089we really have some portable ones that are 50, 60, 70 years old, 32 years minimum, the elements are exposed, so in the long term, up to 10, 15, 20 years, even up to now we are spending a lot of resources that should be going to programming, conversation in several very expensive accommodations, and so through all the planning and the group and all that, the plan was to increase the number of seats, to stabilize the programming because the law I'm referring to says that every student in the school district must have a certified teacher. You have a student designated by the state, not by Matias, that is, I am required by law in the year 27, 20 years ago it was going to be implemented that I must provide that allegation. If you don't provide that,
090where am I supposed to get it? At some point, in another part of the school system, we don't have the number of bilingual students coded as such with the state. So if we find ourselves at RSOP in the future soon with 20% or so, then I'm going to be forced to remove the allocations, which means Cent is going to be there, so I'm anticipating that. I want to tell you in advance . This is the responsive type I want to be, right? These are urgent tasks, so we are trying to increase the number of bilingual emerging teachers, reaching 40%, and reduce the number of seats in the district by up to 20,000. This will also help; we have more than 450 portable teachers, 650 at some point. These are short-term solutions. at the end of
091the day. All of this has to happen. Accounting in this situation is not necessarily a factor that is driving this because I feel very strongly in Peco that we are all moving to the proper place, so I don't think you leave here thinking that we are leaving here to do accounting that is not being properly accounted for, but those are the main factors, the three that are driving all this, ensuring that we have a program that is more aligned with students who are emerging bilingual, but those are the factors, three factors. main ones who ruminate for this specific move. Yes, but why hasn't it happened this year? I'm going to be very honest, we have a very large budget deficit. We have it and it's not something we want to share very often, but our
092cash flow is very low. We depend on the money every year to pay, to make payments for July, August, September, and October. in November and until December when we started to have them. We need to see all the taxes that people pay, property taxes. If we don't improve this cash balance, we'll reach a point where we can't pay. If we have a budget deficit, we no longer have that protection that safeguards us when we don't have money. We have our savings account, we use that savings account until we get paid our property taxes. If we have budget deficits , what are we trying to do to reduce our overall costs? We are going to increase that budget deficit, and that means we are going to be in negative numbers; it means we won't be able
093to pay in November and December, and that affects you. We don't want to reach a point where we can't make those payments. We can make difficult decisions and get ahead. We can get ahead of all these allocations that the State is giving. We can try to stabilize these dual-language student populations. But the risk that we won't be able to pay gets bigger every year. And what I need is time for our families so they can plan, time so we can work together, so we can be successful in supporting the students, and we don't want to be unprepared to receive the students. That's what motivates us. Hi, some of my questions have already been answered, I just wanted to do something quick. I want to reiterate that we chose Rich specifically because it is a small
094school and has dual language instruction. Objectively, bilingual education benefits students in their academic success and success in life. Having this small community is also part of that factor, and with that, I keep hearing that this transition to Piccool is going to be for the best, and I'm trying to understand that. I try to understand that, but at the same time my reality right now is that my children are in school right now. So, my question is, I'm asking you to let more details and plans come out as we go along. Specifics are very important because I find it difficult to trust. I feel that they are not guaranteeing that this move will not negatively impact my children in the short term. It's not like the children who are going to be sacrificed, and I understand
095that it's going to be for the good, for the long term. I understand all of that, but this is also my reality and I just want to know that your needs will be met and I could feel more confident about that if you gave me more specific information because right now I do n't feel that way. Yes, that's a very good comment. Thanks for sharing that. That's what makes it so difficult. He makes it very, very difficult because he is his son. And that's all. My children went to SB and I am very attached to that school and I have to acknowledge that this is their family. There's going to be an interruption. The only way I can help and improve that is by planning together. That is the truth, the reality. I need to
096bring those communities together and plan, plan, plan, build, commit, and they will have my commitment to ensure that it is implemented. That's why I feel that I, we, do a better job than previous administrations because we actually carry out our actions. They can see the patterns. I will implement that, but I need the plan to be developed with the community. If I were to come to you right now with the plan, I wouldn't have your voice, I wouldn't have Picol's voice , I wouldn't have the teachers' voices because we haven't reached that moment yet. We've already created the structures for that, we already have the team, but if I were to give you a plan, I know that it might not meet your student's needs. That's why the goal is that here's the timeline, we're
097going to vote, have the draft, we're going to hire a director and try to understand that this pain, this disruption is going to be real, but we're going to try to mitigate it as best we can. But all the time, all the education and our ability to execute it to start the fall semester, you're going to be very frustrated with me because I couldn't support your student. That's why this time matters. That's what we're going to try to do, that's what we're committed to doing, and that's what we're going to do. I just want to say that I have three children here. Yes, we are part of the group that only speaks Spanish with them. We just arrived here from Panama, and if you ask them everything that's happening, they'll tell you, "Well, the teachers,
098where are the teachers going to go?" And one of my first-grade students says, "I can be friends anywhere, but I want to know where the teachers are going." All three of my students love their teachers. So, what we see here is very special. So, to have that, to interrupt that, is a very big thing. And I just want to know more about the interruptions. Thank you very much. We're over time. Um, that bell was for attendance. I want to thank Superintendent Segura and his entire team. I want to thank all of you who are here, Rattlers and non-Rattlers alike. Your comments and questions are very important, and they're going to be here a little longer. If you'd like to stay, we're going to start lunch in an hour. So, if you want to stay for
099lunch, you can get a stamp to check in. We're also selling lunch tickets; it's cash only . Thank you all very much. If you're part of the district committee, you can stay here and raise your hands so we know who's here. Thank you very much.