001Good afternoon and thank you all for being here. Let's begin. My name is Ali Guilar, I am the executive, the executive director here across the Austin district. Thank you all so much for being here this afternoon. Just a few announcements before we begin. The restrooms will be here through this door to your left. If you want to use the stairs to get there, the ramp can also help you get there. If you didn't grab a water bottle, we have water bottles out there. If you want to grab one at any point, please do. And with that, we'll begin with the agenda of what to expect and how we're going to use the 90 minutes we're here with you. Let's quickly review just a few things so we can have a healthy and productive conversation. Our
002superintendent will talk with us about where we are and during our process, and then we will move on to the answers and questions. We have several questions that came up in our surveys or in the conversations we had. I know that, for example, we had our commissioner who put together some questions, so we're going to try to answer one of those questions, from the questions they already gave us, and any other questions they may have. And we'll also talk about the next steps, but most of the time it will be a dialogue so that everyone knows what's going to be happening in our space and if they want to share anything, so that we can share our information, the process, and where we are with you. So, here are the agreements from the meeting. We
003simply ask that you respect everyone's opinion. Let's allow one person to speak at a time, respect their turn. We're going to ask that when the person has the microphone, we let them give their comment. We also want to use inclusive language. Let's try to speak in a way that includes everyone in our community and avoid using technical terminology or acronyms, if possible, because not everyone knows that vocabulary. We also want to have a healthy dialogue. Let's do it with respect and without attacking each other. And we're also going to try, we're going to do our best to honor your time and respect the time limits so that everyone here, the interpreters, the school staff, can go home on time. Here are the goals we have set for this meeting. We want to... well, we have
004a summary that we want to share with you, and we also have, as you may have seen when you came in, a paper copy and a QR code. So I'm going to scan the QR code again right now. It's going to be a summary of all the information we have, which groups we've talked to, and what the common themes, ideas, and concerns are that have come up over time . We will be able to talk about that as well, and as I already mentioned, we want to explain the criteria, the data, and the other considerations that are guiding the decisions we are going to make. And we also want to give you space for clarifications, final questions before we make a final decision. I know we need to make a decision as quickly as possible,
005but we also know this is a very important decision and we want to make sure it's the right one. So, that's why we're giving everyone the opportunity to share their thoughts, and with that, we're going to welcome Mr. Segura with his comments as superintendent. I am very grateful to all of you for taking the time to come here and have this conversation. For those who know me, I hope you know that this is what you want. They want to be involved, they want to have conversations, they want to understand all the different dynamics and use that information to make the best possible decision. That's how I operate. I hope you will see that through this process. I would like to be able to make adjustments wherever I can, but every time I make a decision,
006I want you to know that I am trying to do it in a way that puts the school district and all of our students in the best position to be successful, not just right now, not just for the next 5 years, but in the decades to come. And they often hear us say that we are doing the best we can. We have done it for 140 years and we will continue to do it for the rest of our time . This is a decision for good . So, it shouldn't be taken lightly. Thank you for being here, for having this conversation. I don't want anyone to leave here and think that I've already made my decision. Of course not. I am here to listen to your dialogues, to be able to adjust things, to be
007able to reach a compromise. Maybe not all of us will be happy, but we will all understand why we are there. That will reflect success, and I also understand that there will be frustrations in one way or another, and that's what happens when we have these kinds of conversations. So, if we're talking specifically about Oxsprings and Blackshield, I want you to know what I'm talking about. You are hearing that, whether from me or from other conversations, we made a decision that Oakpr was going to have to move. to be able to identify the empty seats in that area, but also to be committed to the district's turnaround plan. We also need to find solutions that would do those things and that we arrive at a recommendation that was considered Al Springs completely moving to PLT.
008And I want to tell you that incredible things happen at both schools, and what comes out, the results, the grades, were the result of things that were outside of our control. We need to take ownership of the present and see that we have already reached that recommendation and it was approved by the committee. I also want to be very clear that the committee has certain decisions that they make and certain decisions that they cannot make. And there have been questions that I've been asked, Matías, because this is a decision of the committee, because they can change the school boundaries. This happened on November 20th. The location of the school, uh, across that school boundary, is uh, is historic. We have this good one, my role as superintendent is my role that decision. It has happened
009many times and it is not likely, unless there is some reason, that the committee decides this will not go through. That would be atypical and not what usually happens with the committee at this time. And that's why it wasn't done that way. That's why the committee is involved in that way. They take into account where the schools are located. It is an administration. That's an administrative decision. I can think very specifically of the meeting we had and the entire community around here had an idea of or would consider the combined schools returning to Oak Springs. This is how it would turn out. And the reason at that time, for that consideration, was that these investments in these places in East Austin had not been there before. We need to go back to the last 140
010years. How often do you see investments of that type entering the Austin district from the east side? In 2022 we made a decision as a community. I think that all of us, or most of us, made the decision to invest in Oaksprings. They had a student population at the school that needed a lot of love and support. I want to be very clear, at that time we had no idea that we were going to go through this process. And they say to me, "But how could I not have known this? In 2022, it was the [expletive], but that reflected 2019. What happened after 2022? New legislatures, different funding for schools, and all of that combined with additional pressure made this problem more difficult. We didn't anticipate the magnitude of what we're seeing now five or
011six years ago. It's gotten so much worse, and yes, it's very difficult. So, to answer your question about Oxprings, could we review or bring students back to Oxprings? And the answer is, yes, we could, but we would have to go through a process, listen to the community, see how we can restart certain programs, and what it would look like if we went down that road. So, I want to be very honest with the community, that would take a lot of time, and that's where we are now. So, I have to make a decision here in the next month, or I risk further delays and Oxprings not being able to operate next year because you can't start school in the middle of the [unclear - possibly "mid-term" or "mid-term"]. The semester, it would have to be
012at the end of the semester or the beginning of the year. If we delay it any further, even just a little, it means a full year's delay. What I'm thinking is, when will another one of these investments come in? If we don't take this Oxprink investment, we do n't have enough money to fully modernize. That's the truth. We look at the data, the information, the cost, and here's the other thing. If we're going to fully modernize, it would require more funds, and those funds would have to come from somewhere else . And where would that somewhere else come from? Well, it would probably have to be a futures bond because we're not talking about 5 or 10 billion dollars, it would be 30 or 40 million dollars, because the time it would take to get
013there, to design it, those years cost money. We 've already measured, taken measurements; it's not an apples-to-apples comparison because the factor is time. And so when I think about the thing that's certain right now is having Oxprinks versus something that's certain and in the future, maybe a futures bond. 2025, 2030. Now, I want to be very honest, we're at a point where either of these options could work, but I want to be very clear that building a completely new Blackshare school or modernizing it isn't very likely without other things happening. There isn't enough money in Oxspring to rebuild Blackshare. And something I ask you quite a bit, and I want to be very clear about this, is: what 's the benefit? Because we have incredible schools that are doing incredible things, and they're very important.
014And I ask myself, are these things that are happening happening without taking into account the campus? Another thing we think about is the conditions for student success, having a safe school that operated with high performance. And that makes a difference in how students learn now and how they learned 40 years ago. We can discuss whether it's a major or minor benefit, but there's evidence that there's also a long- term benefit in teacher retention for 5 to 10 years. Having facilities that meet the needs of teachers puts them in a better position in the long run. That's it. that I'm taking into account. And we have data, information on the developments in the areas, and how that would relate to the plan, if we can incorporate it, and we can also talk about the students who
015live in the community. We have those numbers. Yes, they would fit, but the question becomes, Matías, and they're combining enrollment numbers, they won't fit. The answer is like this. It wouldn't happen for a few years. The kindergarten transfer students in two years will be managed from an enrollment perspective to make sure we have the space. Right now, it says no, that we won't be able to have the space, but there are several things we can do to make it work if we want it to work. But at the end of the day, that's what I 'm thinking, and we can discuss it, but these are the things we're trying to consider before we have a final decision, and that's honestly where we are. So I also want to create a space to answer your questions.
016This is your time. Something that always comes up is when students transfer, move. What does the research say about student movement and How does it impact them? Well, what I'm going to say is that in the Austin district, there are several examples of us relocating students and having them either improve academically or have no impact at all. Yes, of course, there are numbers that aren't average, but those students who very rarely attend Brown High School—10 years ago we had to close it for 48 hours because the building wasn't structurally ready—but if we look at the schools in the student system and the students who have relocated, yes, their performance improves. There are many examples of this. We see it in the schools and in the green spaces. What I can say is that there should
017be some concern, but if we plan together, we could really protect and support the transition. That could be a factor, especially when it's two and a half, three and a half, or three years when we're talking about DPR Prince and the transition of what we're going to do. Yes, the building is designed, but that doesn't mean it's not an opportunity to bring in other people from the community. Blacker, or revisiting it. The walls or the units themselves are blocks. So when it comes to Rainy, the name, all the big spaces, Black, the programs you have are incredible, but in this new building, we're going to have accessible programs. We have time for that, but I just want to start there. We probably have other questions, and I do n't want to take up any more
018time here; we just want to answer the questions, but I want to start there so we can navigate while we 're doing everything to make it work to combine the communities. Thank you, Matias. Let's start with the questions and answers. We had a few questions. What are the criteria for deciding whether the Oxprints school is completed there in the consolidated community of Plackshire? If we have any information on our website, I'll start with this. I want to try to do this considering that we have Oxprints and we have representatives from Black, so we have people representing the whole area, so we're looking at it from a design point of view. We have some people from Black Chair. I want to invite anyone who wants to ask questions so they can... So we can begin. We're
019going to start with Oxpring. Very well. I want to ask the Reverend... Yes, my name is Baker. I'm part of the Oxpring community. So I have here a letter from our pastor, and he's also a moderator for the St. Jones Association. So, dear Superintendent, I'm not going to share my name to represent Oxford School. Many of the students have left our school. I can't be present this afternoon because I have other commitments that require my attention, but I want to acknowledge the entire administration that the school has had, that we're doing, that we've been doing well, protecting our students in our workplace, throughout the district, at all times, in the classroom and in transportation. The investment in public schools has carried us into the future. I urge you to leave the Oxpring project for generations
020to come. Aside from our guides, we're talking about the St. Jones Association and many ADEA schools. I ask for your prayers for... I am praying for your discernment and for the school district, your service in Christ. I know there isn't a question, but the next thing I'm going to read after passing the microphone to the pastor... in a film from the 1930s, we were talking about the 1920s and 30s when we were creating division. Justice was divided by equity. We believe in this work again, as the reverend said, that it is a work of sacrifice to shape the lives of our children. The future of Oxprint School is part of this decision. We give unified support for the school and the centers and to have that quality education for all the schools. We are talking
021about the laws we have from the war we had and that now we want unity. Oxprint insists in the community that it is prolonged for one by one to have destruction. Construction has already begun, but to leave this project unfinished, to finish it in the east... all children deserve a school equipped with the schools that are in the community. At the same time, the school is more than A simple building, one of the last we had, we had hope. And the preservation of human rights, giving Blacker the support for early childhood education is a project for the entire community and brings the community to the school for a project in the progress that we don't see, but in fact, the Reverend and I took the direction that we want to have dignity, direction, and opportunities.
022So we are in the history of Blackchair, we also recognize that there is a trust between identity and the possibilities that await us that we choose reservation, preservation. So this is not just for East Austin, we are also talking about the city, the options we have so that it has values and the community, and we respectfully ask that you respect Oxsprings and Blacker for the history it deserves for the history it has for the children. The leadership brings them to action, and we thank you for your service, your dedication, and your services. We resolve in hope I am here, representing the community to community organizations and fellow citizens throughout the region. Thank you. My name is Killer Menseny, and I am the pastor. I am also with the St. John's Association. I have been here
023for years, and I come from East Texas and Luciana. I grew up in a time when we were segregated, but I had a very good education, and I can understand the letters from our moderators when we are talking about Oxpress and Blackar. We have to be very sensitive to the needs of those communities, and I cannot stress enough that this should be considered at any time that a child is not being educated. This child here has a great future, and if he has a very good education, and I believe that should be the case, and thank you for what you are doing. But when we are talking about Oxpress and Blackar, as we said, we don't share the entire spirit, but we do share the idea that at any time there is centrification, and we
024are talking about the community. It creates all sorts of problems, and in America we still have the best country in the world, but again, education, again, where I come from, from a rural area where we had little opportunity, and that should be an example. And another example should be Jim Crow. Uh, thank you, Oxprar. Yes, so that children don't have to have any problems and can have a very good education. Thank you. We need to know that someone from the PTA of Placker wanted to speak. Hello everyone, my name is Neil. I have a daughter here in Killing and a son who is in Blackchair, so we have been in Blackchair for a while and we need more time to go back. I think these meetings are just for consideration, especially at this point with
025the questions and opinions. There are a lot of emotions, and that's good. We have families here who respect the system. I am anxious here about what it will be like in the future, about what's coming. So I want to say, take a deep breath. Relax, we're going to be okay, we'll see how it goes and we'll be fine. I also hope that our schools in Oxpr feel supported in August. I think they're going to open the school, the Blackchair school. I don't know how they're going to do, but it's going to take some time, but I think that now is their school in Oxpr and everywhere else. So it's very important. The school is very resilient. What you're going to hear from me is that we're going to be advocating for Blackchair to remain a
026school. It's an open, it's a great school. The most important thing for me is that we realize we're advocating for a new school in Oxpr. That 's a false choice. Someone said it, they said it, but the perimeter didn't. I can say that that came from the state, from the district. We have ideas of possibilities that we would like to be invited to the table to discuss them, to think outside the box. We have some very smart and very handsome leaders here, so we're talking about Blackchair as well, our friends with the I was talking with them, and I really appreciate some of the things they explained about the context. I didn't want to answer them, but you answer them. That's all I have to do. I do n't have a specific question, just to
027the people I want to welcome and thank, and to continue from here. I'm not one of those who's supporting Kerma, and I want to follow her. My name is Scott Flag. I've been here in Austin since I arrived in the ' 90s. I've been a real estate agent for a long time in the capital, and I've had relationships with them. I've had a strong presence in Oxpress, across the street, with those relationships, and I want to read a letter from a friend. I think I heard something about generational investment from my friend here, and I think that's true. The facts, what I heard, what the superintendent said, there are things that he doesn't understand. We deserve investment, and there's a place for that, for it to start working. Maybe the opportunity starts again . I
028think I agree with my friends here that in the short term it will be somewhat chaotic while we 're in one place, which I believe will be Black Chair, and he's the one in kindergarten, our friend who will be our school of the future and our investment in the future. And the important thing is that our first-year students have that goal , that we take the decision for their goal to make a difference in the Oxprens generation. I'm going to read a letter from Dr. Dector, from Dr. Harold, and this is for you. I haven't read either of these letters. This is a shorter one than the ones they already shared. Dear Superintendent Segura, thank you and thank you for the Austin Independent School District for helping our community. Speaking of Black Chair and Oxpren,
029I'm writing this letter because I can't be there in person, as I had a prior commitment, but I graduated from the school district and I'm a pastor in the community. I ask that you intentionally and with a contact or investment in life of our children. I share the sentiment of our hearts with the community, and I ask that you resume and complete the construction of your school. This will provide another model for the students of the children of the eastern community to continue with the historical and cultural part of this school. We ask that you use Black Shear as an early childhood care center, something we could experience here in the community when we give to Black Shear and Houston Tenson University. We have been here for decades. We have been a source of healing,
030inspiration, and confidence. We ask that you have faith in this generational shift for our children. Thank you again for your time. That's Reverend Teokio. Is there anyone else who would like to raise their hand? If you would like to speak. I think we can only take three people. Anyone else? The Black Shear. Okay. One, two. Then you. Anyone from Oaksprings? Me. Okay. So, here with the lady back there, you guys here, and then the gentleman over there. Back here. Please come up here . Can you explain how to repurpose Blacksher as an early childhood development center? I think you mentioned that we're trying to use less technical terminology. But you're asking me to respond to that idea. Yes, I think there seems to be an idea to repurpose Blacksher, but you also just told us
031that students will continue to use it if we modernize it. And is that actually an option? Yes. And that's the reason why. They're two separate things. I want to be very clear, they're two separate things. A modernized faculty, with the 2022 bond, is a historic investment that will go towards Oxsprings, and that will go to these places for infrastructure. But when we look at a building like Blacksher, one of the things I think you realize is that you're limited in what you can do. The plan is already fixed, the building is already fixed, there are things we can do to the interior, but it won't be able to To be rebuilt, with the things we want to do. It's no longer going to be possible. Yes, we can use it, reuse it for another purpose
032that has some other kind of need. For example, this example, for example, Kiss Elementary School, that's the same as elementary school, it was closed in 2019, uh, Peace was reconfigured in a way so that it's now an early childhood development center, and that was done with another type of loan. That money comes from outside the district, and then our job is to see how we can allocate those funds so that we can, and you're using those factors to make the decision right now. Well, we have many hypotheticals. Hypothetically, yes, because the reality is that that plan, that project could be done quickly because it's not a complete construction, we don't have to look for separate funds. We've heard so much need for early childhood development centers . What we don't have is the space, and
033what we don't have are the funds to improve those spaces. So, I want to be very clear. Our intention is to preserve Black Flagshire. I, I, from the beginning, I said that. That building, the history and legacy of Blackshier, is something that's very important to the Austin district. What we have to consider as a community is what makes the most sense. We shouldn't repurpose it for just anything . So, that's why that idea came up. I know we can do it because we've done it before. We can talk with the city of Austin, the c Travis' wave, because we don't have that kind of ability. Does that help you? Yes, a little bit. Yes, different reasons for the money and different requirements to access those funds. Now we're going to go over here . Hi,
034my name is Heather. I am a mom at Oak Springs Elementary School . Right now I have two children there and I also have two older children. If this decision is really about students and learning, if we want to build a new building in this new location, the district has said that students need spaces that support innovative learning in this age of technology. Hello, my name is Ben Turner. I come from Oxsprings Primary School. And if this is really about us, then we should be a safer school . and made for learning. We want classrooms that help us focus on days where we can explore creative things. And in Oak Springs. We want our education to be as good as the education of any other student in the district. Hello, my name is [name omitted]
035and I am a student at Oxprings Primary School. And if this is really about us, please build a school. that it is the same as the world in which we are growing up. We are growing with technology, teamwork, and creativity. A new school in Oxsprings would give us the tools we need to succeed in middle school, high school, college, and whatever comes next. Hello, my name is Bela and I go to Oxprings Primary School. And if this is really about us, then please listen to our voices and what we want. We want a school where we feel excited to learn every day. in a modern school in Oak Springs. Our education and our teachers would help us a lot, so they could teach us better. Hello, I am also a student at Oxspring Primary School.
036If this is really about us, then the answer is simple. We need a new school so we can learn now, not in the past. The Oaksprings building would help current and future students. Please choose a future that helps us with our learning, our dreams, and our hopes. And these are other students in the O at Oak Springs School. My name is Jasmine. My name is S. My name is Adam and he called me. Thank you so much. They are very brave to stand here in front of this audience and then read from the gentleman back there. Hello everyone. Thank you. Thank you. I'm just going to do it quickly, sorry. My name is Mike. I was born here, I grew up here in Austin. Nice to meet you all, but this is Pastor Davis Clark
037and I wanted to share this with you on behalf of him and the Austin district committee. I am writing this letter because I could not be there in person. I am the King Pastor of Austin and I would like to express my support for keeping Oakspring School in that location and consolidating the students of Oak Springs and Blackshier. These students deserve access to modern, fully equipped learning environments. The story of Oxpring remains in a construction area that has not been completed. This is a critical investment for our students to demonstrate our commitment to their equitable education. This would give us foundational learning for the future to ensure that children in East Austin have the resources they need. I also support Blackshare, that Blackshire primary school was founded in 1891 to educate African American children and
038is named after Mr. Edward Blackshire. That school represents over 100 years of community service, starting as a small school with just one classroom. It's now an academy and it's very important to our East Austin history. We would like to be able to honor the legacy and maintain the school. This decision is an opportunity to stand together for our children, our community, and the history of East Austin. I ask that you be able to use the Blackshi facilities for another place. with proper use. Thank you for your time and consideration. Pastor Bailey Clark. Thank you. Now, I'd like to say something quickly. It's difficult to get through here after the little ones. We must remember that they are our future. They will take care of us. I am still young, but I want these children, these
039young people, to take care of us in the future. And if we want that, we have to unite. We have to protect the children. They are our future. We have to protect the future. Please consider this, because I was born and raised here, and when I see where I was and where I am now, we have to unite because it's going to cause long-term trauma for our community for decades to come. And we don't want that at all. It's all about unity. Please remember, please consider the children first. We need them and they need us. We're going to take three more people. I saw your hand over here. Do you have any connection to either of the two schools, or do you just want to say something in general? Okay, give me a hand over
040here. Black. Okay. Anyone else? The Oak Springs. Yes. Here. back here. Do you want 5 minutes? Hello, good afternoon everyone. I am Chasborne. Thank you for your time. I'm here because I was invited and we've already met. A question is not for you, it is personal, but you sit in a seat that has many heavy things. It's definitely part of the institution's system, which has some very heavy aspects. So, I don't want you to take it personally, but I want to—well, that's my opinion—and I'm not going to tell you that you invited me because I don't want you to turn against them. It's very difficult for me to come to these kinds of meetings because I wasn't born, I grew up in Austin, I was only here for 20 years, but since I became an
041adult and had that option, I moved here. I couldn't decide where my parents had me. But for the 20 years I've been here and I've been an activist in organizations, I've seen African Americans, Latinos, Mexicans, and poor white people—because there are poor people— constantly come out and ask, beg those systems and institutions to do the right thing. My organization didn't start with African American people, although they were part of this and all these leagues. And what I've seen in my 20 years here in Austin, and also because I can read, I know the history and I've heard the history of people of color. And our ancestors who have told us how much this city has taken from people of color, has taken things from them, and in the process of taking these things, on 6th
042Street before it was African Americans and Latinos. Here in the east too, they were people of color, and now they are not. And in the process of taking over colonialism, people of color have had to suffer humiliation, begging for human decency to be seen as brothers during the whole process. People of color and poor white people have had to beg the city of Austin and its institutions, and in the process of them handling these matters, to please just treat them like human beings. Treat me like I'm your neighbor. My question with that in mind is what about the children who just passed by and that gentleman who just passed by. have him read these letters from the pastors to them. What hope, if you can call it that? Better question. What would you say to
043the group of people who have no reason to trust what the district is going to tell us? Because we've seen this, this process with the subway, with C subway, any bonus that's on the ballot papers they always promise us and they never do it. And I already told you, I think the Austin district is the most violent institution compared to the police department, because of how they have treated and how they have harmed people of color. Our population is that neglect of people of color, of families, of students who have gone through this school district system, and again, it's not personal, but you represent a seat that asks us for comments, you give your comments, your wisdom, and then the things that you are being asked for, that you are being asked to do, never
044happen. Which? Well, you got here at the beginning, okay? No, yes, I did hear it. The Austin district has been present for 140 years and this organization has certainly not done what it should have done for our people of color. My parents lived in East Austin. I grew up in South Austin. And right now what we're doing, I can't tell you about the past 5 or 10 years , I wasn't in this seat until two or three years ago. But I hope that when you think of us, of our committee, it's because we are very clear that we are going to put the resources to the children who need them most. spot. We know that students who look like you and me don't do well in the Austin district, but we are a high-performing school
045district. They are in the details as an organization. We, for the last two years, especially the last three years, have tried very, very hard to do things recently. I don't know how they were done in the past and if it's true. In 2022, Oak Springs did not receive any funding. They weren't given funding 100 years ago, they were barely given funding in 2022. I lived in that world. We live in that world, do n't we? If you can compare us to Cap Metro and anything else, I can assure you that nobody else is building as quickly and as effectively as we are. We are trying to do this. That's exactly what should be happening. We understand the experiences of people in the community. I do n't know, excuse me, it wouldn't be genuine to make
046a decision without you, without the family, without the community taking it into account, because that is historically inaccessible. If we are going to make a decision, you all have to be at the same table. So, I'm going to tell you what we're going to continue with. We're trying to change the results, and there's a lot of evidence that shows we 're moving in the right direction. And it may not be much, but I'm trying to do everything I can to make it the best it can be, so that when people see it in the future, they'll know that we did it right and we're trying to support the people we haven't historically been able to represent as well. That's how I think, that's how I operate, and I would like people to say that the
047people who work with me know that, but we are a very small piece in these last 140 years, but I feel very confident that if we take this path, this project can be executed, and if not, and if we do anything else that the community wants, we will do whatever it takes until it can be done. So in other words, hello, hello, I am a mother of two children from Blacker Elementary. We have been in the district for many years and we will be here for a long time to come. I have learned a lot about what interests the consolidation process community. We've been watching, we've been going to the events. One thing we've learned from Oxprens is that from people who have been here for a long time, from my perspective as a father,
048from Blackchad, I want a consistent experience in their education. I've learned a lot about East Austin, the district, and the community. That comes from me, from my perspective, from my children. We've been in schools, in the in the in the I like to listen to the children's comments and I think it's something I'd like to do in this, I'd like to see in these discussions. They are different things from the consolidation process. One of those is that of a construction plan , but also when we come to the difficult decisions, many come from the tax requirements of the State, there isn't much like council plans. So my question is, how does this consolidation plan and these things help the community come together, to stabilize what we are, but at the same time we are presenting
049the schools that are joining and how can we get them to support each other? What kind of support will be provided? I don't want my children to move again and then have that school given to the state. We are going to build schools to give to the state. Then I want to know what support the Black Cheer staff has for the development of a new team. We are wondering how we can be successful. I think that unless we're all here and want to stay, please, I think we could all, as a district, come together on this plan to prevent this from happening again. How the schools and leadership of Blackcha are being supported in this process while we maintain the academic system for our children. That's a great question. Thank you. Jennifer is going to
050send this from the leadership of Black Cheer. You all go through everything we're talking about. But what I also want to acknowledge is that he is absolutely right. When a principal is trying to build a new school, he has two jobs and we recognize that, we've seen it in the past. I also want to be very clear that a lot of that is part of the design process. When the director is designing what we are doing with a thing, how it is going to be built, where it is going to be built, and not what the contractor says. If we start with Oxprint, we will have the need for support and participation, but not at the same level as we would otherwise have. There are many specific details, but we are also providing support to
051construction supervisors, to people who are not completely directors, but are, for example, Isaiah Isaac, I always mispronounce the name of this director. He was the director of Bully and he is now the person who provides support to directors who are going to do a modernization. He was a director. He is now supporting the directors, he is working with the construction companies. This is what the directors want. This is what we need to support. And this supplement is what it is. Yes, you're absolutely right. There are other aspects for the director, and we also have to support him. We are giving support when we are talking about the bread of the plan to turn around. Uh, we're talking about where we're coming together. where we are talking with the staff, what are those additional resources that
052they are having for our children, that when we are joining two schools together, the teachers, how the teachers are receiving support in this very gigantic change in a new group. So that's one of the things, one of the things we're being very intentional about is that we want to invest in them. You might ask me, Matías, why are you building schools that haven't been modernized or that were in another state? Why are you building those schools now? consolidating them in schools. If I'm only going to invest, I'm only going to invest in a school that has more, that's doing better, than one that does n't have the same challenges, then we're never going to invest that in other schools, that's not who we are. That means we have a very intentional community plan to serve
053the population. Now I'll tell you what's happening here and where we need to go. It's the best solution. We have two schools that are going to merge into a new school, which is not ideal. Ideally, we would have a transitional school, which is what we 're going through here, and then move together to the new school that has already been built. That's something you've been most successful at. That's what we're talking about, that's what we 're uniting these schools with. This works both ways in Austin. In my experience it's better to have them join together and then bring them back together. This also reflects people leaving the city or county. If we can, we can share all the data with you. So it's a false narrative from any of the ones we're going to talk
054about, that it's going to go down. We believe there will be an increase. They can go. We are thinking about people who might go to a private school or leave the state school. People return. Let's continue. Let's continue. Here are some other questions we have. Good afternoon, Mr. Superintendent. My name is Joes. I have the privilege of being part of the organization and of being in this city. I had the pleasure of working with you when we were talking about education, where it wasn't something we could boast about. When I'm thinking about it, I'm thinking about when we think about the people who were born and raised here in Austin, I'm thinking about the displacement of people from communities of undereducation that hasn't worked, I think, from East Austin, right? That part doesn't make sense.
055Danson and I went to Junior High School. One of my colleagues is the director there now. I understand, I listen to what she says and I want to trust the process, but I have been reading Dr. Stefanie's work for the past 13 years. Myself and a group of people from the coalition have been working with Dr. Me, the interim superintendent, in the Garland process. The promise here is that this money is being spent 100% in East Austin schools and all that investment we're seeing over the years. Because now Oxpr looks the same as when I was there in 1980 and it had to be modernized in the same listening in Dobi and Lier in which now it is Navarro are the same schools and now all these schools the criteria that we are talking about.
056I am saying this, which was promised to us. I believe, as this young man here said, that it is a false choice because historically they are underfunded, they are not receiving the funds, and we are assessing the value and now we are receiving people who are centrifying Roswood. How will that look—the instructions, the registrations, we have developments there in Oxpr? And it scares me that if we give up on this construction, the next time I pass by there will be businesses there, and I'll see the next Starbucks or Lulu Lulu Lemon Shop. And it scares me, and I think I'm talking about what we've seen in my time in my life in East Austin, that infrastructure. What we're going to see is an unmodernized, overcrowded school, and ending up like this young man here said,
057how the state took over, and that point where we have that opportunity to modernize education for our children is going to be left there for a Starbucks or any other store. So I ask you to please continue that construction. We're not going to tell the constituents, we're going to tell our colleagues, our neighbors, to vote for approval, but to keep the promises, to keep the promises, because that's what happened. I know that the people who are there, all of them are there, they've already left. But I remember, I remember the promises that were made, and I am asking him to keep that promise. That's what I 'm asking for. A quick answer. So they were here for a short period of time, but I was the CEO at that time, I developed that localization program.
058That's what I did for many years, and as Jo Briley may know, it was important to me that we invest in the way I wanted to see investment in East Austin. It appears to have been delayed due to other infrastructure projects. We've moved them. In 2022 we moved on to 2023 and we started design work. We're going to Harris and moving them back . Two weeks ago we got Alice, we got B Sprint, all of these are East Coast schools, we got Burnet Meter School, we got billions of dollars going and yes I sincerely believe we need to invest. You only receive it once or maybe twice in a generation; it doesn't happen very often. I don't know what happened. I don't know who the superintendent is going to be. That's the way I want
059to do it. I want to do the right thing, the best I can. I'm listening to you. We're trying to do it differently. Uh, I hope not, I don't think so, I do n't want there to be a Starbucks or a Lulum Lemon there. Matía, I just wanted to let you know that these are the numbers for the units we are working on, the students of the data, an estimate, we have estimated the capacity in the registrations. These are the numbers. This is not it, this is too much. Very good. So I told Miss Bradley that she could go on. Sorry to interrupt, but I think we've tried to give space to our community members as well. Let's make time for everyone. Let's continue. We're going to make sure everyone has the opportunity. I received
060my education right here. I have also been educating children for over 30 years. This is centrification. He has always chosen the best. You parents here, you may have some who are failing, those parents didn't have the resources, they don't know how to advocate for their children in the district. They don't know what it's like to go to school, they don't know what it's like to go to the website. You have elementary schools that have 10 to 15 substitute teachers, but nobody knows it. The parents don't know. Someone has to advocate for them because they don't know. What you're saying when you talk about failing some classes is that the schools have been training the teachers. So I just want everyone to understand. I have a niece at that very moment. You have to consider that
061these children don't know how to relate to other children and their intelligence. If they don't do that, the children won't be educated because if they're not there, they don't know how to deal with these children, they don't know what their behaviors are, and that's why they're there for their nutrition. And I'm just talking to everyone. Some of you here don't care if the kids go to Black or Springs, it makes no difference, but I care about the kids who live in this community, who have parents who aren't around , who aren't involved in this community, whether it's in Blacker or Rock Springs. All we ask is that the children in this new school have the same teachers that BN Hill, Sulker, and Maplew have, that those same teachers fill our children . Give those children
062the same teachers. And I heard a girl, a lady talking. I'm talking about children who are disadvantaged. That's it, that's what I'm doing for them. I'm seeing quite a few hands. Well, first of all I want to say thank you. And thanks to the school committee. And the reason I did that is because many of the conversations we've had are about consolidations and they talk about Blackshare, and I don't feel that Blackshare, the school, not the community, has had the opportunity to have the same conversations that other schools have had that opportunity to have. One of the things I'm hearing, I personally believe that Oaksprings should have that school completed and I don't think Black Sher should close and for the simple reason is if you look here across the street, if you look here
063if you go down the street, if you go over there by Cumal and turn to the left, there's an apartment complex. If you walk outside of that and walk down here in Roadwood and see across the street, there are some apartments, people are going to keep coming here because the city of Austin, the city and the authority are building these projects. I asked this question a while ago. Did they consider the complex that is being built and the families that are going to move in? Those families were taken into account, I think it's me. And there's another complex that's going to be built, I think, at Junip and 11th Street. And there's another complex that's going to be built on 8th Street. All of this will be affordable housing. People will be able to move
064around there. Black is going to be needed. That was considered. Did any of you tell them about that? Yes, Sheryl. Well, Miss Bradley. Yes. Uh, that's how this process works. We'd like to share with you the developments we 're seeing in the plan. They're up there . There are others, but they're there. Yes, we spoke with the construction company and told them, "Here's the thing. Most of them believe that more space will be needed for schools later." No, I'm not even saying that. I 'm just saying that I haven't met Michael Gerber, the person they had talking to about the city of Austin . I've gone where the developments are. Well, I know you're going, but there are other people who are going too. I feel I know that has n't been done. And the
065other thing is that the parents talked about focusing on the students because we need to have the right individuals in those schools. If you know, when they talk about intentional funding, I don't believe that a principal would walk into a school where they have that leadership position and not have that intention. I don't believe teachers stand in front of their students, and I don't believe they are unintentional. It 's always intentional. And what I need you to understand is what the district's intention is for our community. I think that the East of Austin Plaxhire, what is the intention? Because basically you already know what you want to do, because you can't lie to me, I've been here in this district for a long time. To clarify, you're the one who helped us come up with
066this idea, and you had a conversation because I was at that meeting, and I helped organize that meeting, and only one person got on the microphone, and that was a teacher at Oaksprings, and now suddenly you've caused several things. I know it's true. Yes, you're saying that was my idea, but only one person went to that meeting and I'm not angry with you. No, I'm not angry with you. One thing I want everyone to understand is that the district's role is decreasing, and you know that even though they started this bonus plan, enrollments were going down. That was what they were considered to be. The promises were made and we expect our investment to grow. That's all. You promised us, if you're promising it, do it. If not, if you can't do it, tell us
067one reason why it can't be done. And make it very clear and simple. Uh, we're looking at closing both schools and only opening one. That doesn't sound normal. Two schools close and only one opens. One of the things about East Austin is that we lose our legacy, we lose our history, and then they want to say we can bring back the Blackshar as an early childhood education center because that's what it is , but that didn't happen overnight, and you know that lasted 45 years. Well, to be clear, and I want to be very honest with you. Um, I think it could have been done much faster than it was, and our goal would be to be able to use that space as quickly as possible. Since the 2019 pandemic, nothing happened for several years.
068Okay, what I'm going to ask you is, did you consider the community around those two schools? Consider the historical value of what we have here. If you're going to say it, do it. It's intentional. Make sure it's intentional. Make sure there is a rigorous and academically strong program so that the support is there, is there. And that's been one thing we've argued about with the district. And it is true that there is institutionalized racism. No matter who our superintendent is, they always think they can fight it, but there's always institutional racism. Whatever you say you're going to do, do it intentionally, but make sure that the Blackshier community—and I live in this community, I went to Blackshier School. I went to this school here and I also went to A Springs, to elementary school. So,
069I came to these schools. I am very interested. Every time I think about what we're going to do to ensure it's in the best interest of the children, because as adults we already have it, we already had it. We need to make sure the children have it too, and we're turning to you so you can do it. And he did. He did what he could, but it's what you do with what you have right now. Here we have a lady who is a former student of Blackshi and then we'll come back this way. My name is Arling Jung and I am a former student of Blacker, the one from Black Elementary School. And here's my friend Cristina, we went to nursing school in 10 and we went to school together. We had teachers who pushed
070us to be successful, and my grandchildren, whom I see when they get out of school, they come to Carver from Blackshare. The parents make sure they can transport the children to the east side so they can have some of those Blackshire benefits. I am so proud to see you here advocating for your children. I am also very proud of the African American dads who were able to come. We know we have responsibilities, but I want you to understand that Blackshier is an important part of East Austin. 1891. The school has a historical marker on the administration building. I want you to take the time and go. When I was there, they were still hitting us. The education committee, Mr. Ris, who made the free lunch program before and during segregation. He was the one who
071introduced this program. of the free launch ones. He started that program for Blackshire during segregation. I want you to understand that these schools are important. The children have a place to go. They have excellence in both schools. I am also advocating for Oxsprings. Those schools are very important. They were established during segregation, and our white babies are benefiting from what was happening in schools, because they also needed to go to schools. Students in Houston, Tilotson, where are they going to go? They're going to go, they're going to cross the street. Now, where are they going to go? When those student teachers go and cross the school. Yes, they have other churches nearby, but this community dies when something is broken. That's what will happen during centrifugation. They break something so we can start over and
072build something else, but we have to keep what is most important for our community. I feel like you guys have this thing that doesn't look very good, but thank you very much for the opportunity. We need to raise our voices for our children, because they are the ones who will benefit. When children, all children, brown, Latino, African American, Hispanic, when they can come together and work with each other, go to school, work together, they have to have each other there for each other. They're going to be your friends, some of them are going to get married, but we need opportunities. One can live in a vacuum cleaner, but thank you very much. And go to the Blackser, the historic scoreboard. And I think there's also an anniversary here this Friday, this Friday the 13th. Please
073go, even if your children are going to Oxsprings, go from 5 to 8. Bye. Thank you. And we are now at the end of our, uh, the end of the program. I think we can commit to talking to six more people. Hi, I'm Rachel. I have two children in Blackshire, in the Blackshire area. They walk towards the school. We've been there for 14 years. We have there a first and fourth grade student. Black is very good. I appreciate all the comments. I feel that the comments about our location, uh, I'm very happy that that came out because Blacker has been very successful and that success has been built with our teachers, our dads. Our location is very good and I feel that has n't been enough of a part of this conversation. When I see
074that, it started, I feel it started in these consolidation conversations, and while I am personally trying to put myself in their shoes and think about how our school can be successful in the long term. And I feel that the plan to restart didn't start at Oxsprings. And the plan was we're going to build on last year's success, we're going to open up to make a better, stronger school. And what I am worried about is that if we remove the Blackshier community because of its location, success will be more difficult. Those relationships with the teachers, and that's the promise that matters most: to give the children the education they need. It's difficult to find teachers who teach in these kinds of schools, and having that has helped us in Blackshire to have enough staff. From what
075I understand, it's difficult when there are staff cuts or staff shortages, excuse me, but I feel that's part of my list. It's not just the short-term transition, but also trying to create more stability at a time when we have quite a few obstacles in front of us, but also in the long term. That's what will bring students, staff, and families to this school. Some of us in this room can advocate for our children, and in Springs we have been able to attract parents who can invest in our school. Let's hope that's the case for all of us. They are all our children. And what I'm left with is that the timing has to be now because of the construction contracts and things with the other school, but I know that in any year, if we
076look at it from the perspective of focusing on one thing at a time, then I would like this conversation to be part of the district's reasoning, because there were at least three other schools. If they build one more, there will be four because they didn't build the Sánchez school and the other Zavala schools. And then there are all these things that are related to each other. And I feel that I would have more security in this security and what is the best long- term location for our school. Let this be part of the conversation. And it 's very difficult. I had a lot of hope that everything was going to happen at once, and this is very painful, the uncertainty, and I think having this conversation would help us all realize, "Okay, that makes sense,
077because if they close the Oak Springs location, it makes sense, but there are other things." I do n't want to take up any more time, I appreciate it. No, I don't want to, but I want to continue with what the gentleman said, in a discussion about time. We've been focused on whether we can continue this discussion. The reality is that the time in the facilities in this market is what we're talking about. Some of the funds we have right now are put into the budget for a year later to receive the available dollars. This is what we're trying to do, have enough time to allocate these dollars. In a year, we're going to have an increase of millions of dollars, but that's what we're talking about, the equality of our program, and also, we're talking
078about wanting to navigate because this is the reality. The money isn't It is. The money, if the money isn't there, the question is where is this money going to come from? Many of these projects won't have these funds until we're in the process and until the end to reinvest back in the infrastructure. If we want to do this at the same time as the budget, I just wanted to mention that here. Yes, thank you. I live around here, just around the corner. I have a child, and my family is here at this school. We're listening. I 'm very happy to acknowledge so much of the history. I believe that we should finish what we started. We're talking about the schools. I believe that what is best for our children is the standards in infrastructure, attendance,
079reading, math, social development. There are many resources, many studies on moving children to another school over time. Enrollment isn't something, but my daughter, my wife, is a teacher at Dob Mid School. At that school, the teachers leave their hearts there. She was teacher of the year. that she never rests. I think we have in the areas outside the city we are forcing schools to have repercussions for families and children. As you know, I support Oxprints and I support Pchure. I support both the students because I support the excess, the number of students and teachers, the history of the regenerations. I think we're talking about the fact that we're not saying that change isn't working in the locality of the school. I want to talk about that, that it's not something that we're taking the transition.
080My name is Patrick, I have some children in Blackchair. Thank you for the conversation. So my question is for you, actually it's for you. I heard that it's a decision that in fact it seems that it's a decision that you are making. Yes, I am making the decision. I try very, very hard to take into account the entire community. And I will say that if we are looking at the history of the lesions, we are basing it on injustice, on what is appropriate, but there are some things that I cannot change, there are some things that I cannot that I can't distance myself from them because we're in the process of figuring out how we got to this point. There's flexibility in this period. We want to explore years and years of needing to take
081stock of where we are, of how we can do it. If I have to, it's my decision to do it, but I don't make my decision alone. You have experience working at Black Chair, and if I have experience supporting, let's say, supporting the Black community. I've spent time at Black Chair. Last time we had a conversation with the principal. Yes, definitely at Black Chair. And what about Oxpress? The same. It's been the same amount of time, and you don't know how many of all the hundreds of schools, of the 150 schools, have been there. My question is, I don't understand where you want to take this. Ask the principals if I'm there. Ask the community if I've been present. Ask anyone here. I've been working, and most of the time it's impossible for me to
082be in every school and spend the same amount of time at each school, but I try very hard. You can see there are many people here who just want one Family, we want a fair way for everyone to make a better decision. I'm just wondering if you've found an alternative way to make the decision. I would n't consider doing it differently. Yes, even though that's not true of the services we've done in Austin, it wouldn't be fair. And I hope you understand why that wouldn't be fair. It sounds like a very, very difficult process. There's a timeframe for considering the process. I think the timeline we're considering is when we're going to change this. We're talking about increasing and working through that. We're trying to talk to the community, and with some of the community.
083I'm talking about myself. We're not voting for the funds. If you could leave your name, where were we ? We know each other, I know your parents. We are the community, even if we don't know each other directly, we have a better community. I want to talk about the money. In 2017, the schools received $35,000, and I'd like to see the numbers of what that looks like. They look at us, they tell us this, That the money isn't enough, but I'd like to see. You also said that what we need to do at Oxprints, that doesn't make sense with the design. The question is, it's a completely different market from the ones we're talking about, the bases that have grown like twice as much. We're talking about the CDC's conditions, the CDC website. It's ridiculous
084how much the price has cost us , how much it's gone up. We're honestly talking about the schools they 're building right now. We're talking about a completely different long-term cost. It's how fluid, how big we're talking about the market. Second, when we're talking about Black Charity, about how far our dollars are going to go, the redesign, the redesign, when we're talking about things that are easier to organize in the process, the design says that we say in a way, if there are justifications that ask us for the space, the consideration of the spaces. So yes, there are limitations in how the relationship, how it works. That's true. I'm with you. That's true. There are other opportunities to improve what exists. Yes, with some exceptions. I can't move a kitchen, I can't move some things.
085You used an acronym; it's a guaranteed maximum price. It's not when I'm going to pay you this money to build me this school. And we say that at the beginning of the budget, so there are opportunities to redirect the design, but it's not redesigning; we're talking about permits, we're talking about a change in the timeline . We use that timeline to see what changes we can handle. If I move a school, that's an 18-month change. So what I would say is that we're projecting enrollments in both precincts, right? Kids are going to come after that. When we're thinking about the schools, we're saying that they reside in the neighborhood. We want to invite other families if we have space. We're talking about people who reside there, so that's one of the things that's working. or
086that are leaving. Um, we can do a... we can break it down by spaces to see where the buildings are and where the students live. And that's how we're doing it. If this gentleman here has had his discharge... Yes, we're very late, so I want to ask you, unless you have a comment that we haven't mentioned, so please, we want to wrap up. Yes, I want to ask a question. The Black Chair arts program that we're talking about, that I've heard about, that Oxpra has space available for the fine arts program. Are there any campuses that can support the fine arts? The program is produced to create, to bring in families. That's conscious. We know that, that's why we're doing it. We're not dismantling, we 're not designing those programs to transfer students. We created
087a school for the community and then we welcome transfers. But we don't put capacity based on that, we base it on transfers. Yes, we have 100 students moving in a who move into a high school, but when we have the capacity, we definitely welcome them. Now there's an opportunity to keep Black Open. That means we're going to continue with Oxprints. The board has agreed to combine those two schools. So, to their point, uh, open fields, if there are challenges with that, I'm not saying it's impossible, just that I wouldn't say what would happen at this time. We need to be able to work on it in the spring so that we can then continue in the summer and fall. That's how it would have to work. Are you saying it would kill? It's the fine
088arts program. I think that's one of the things we need to understand the impact of changing that program. I know you don't want to hear that, and if we're looking at the history of the Austin district, there are many programs that continue and then new ones come in. We have something very clear: we want to have very, very well-founded community schools, and the only way we're going to see that is through a comprehensive plan, so we're talking about transportation, we 're Speaking of being able to support them in that way, it's not impossible. I 'm just saying. If you agree, I would say the only way we could mitigate that is by having a plan. Yes, we have to ask the schools to join us, and we have to talk about the change that's going
089to happen. That's why I want to provide that clarity, I want to answer the questions, but many times we're taking it for more than a year and a half, right? So we don't give families clarity, so we don't give anyone... That's one possibility. That's something else on the chart. I'm going to make this our last comment for everyone. Well, I don't think you've mentioned this before, except for the part where we were talking about resources for new buildings so that the children can be successful. I mean, I'm new to the Eastside. I've been able to meet some of my neighbors and see what the community has done, a fraction of what our elders used to do. I appreciate this opportunity to talk with people. Thank you, Reverend, thank you all for sharing and for listening,
090for listening, everyone. Together, because I think that's part of what's failing, how we can become a good community. Here in Ocean, I value what Miss Carlina was saying, our children being able to meet other children and to be able to work with them. That's the future. That's what we need. We're more afraid sometimes than they are. So we need resources in this new school, especially with the division that we haven't had a way to talk about, the division that has existed in our generations that are still here. Sometimes we need solutions, resources to support the community so that it can come together. We were talking about healing circles. I think we need that kind of stability so that we can talk to each other in the community so that we can support our children. Thank
091you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And this gentleman here was... One last word. I think we have two stories that I want to share. When we look at both schools, we all want both of them to be open, we want both schools to remain open. However, where we are right now, we have to make one... we have to make one decision. I don't like that decision. I don't like the fact that we have to make that decision, but as someone who is part of this community, and that school has been there for many years— there are very few people in this room who have been in the community longer—I understand how it feels when people don't have those same schools. In the other schools, I'm looking at the demographics of school representation, and even
092in the Blackshire community, there wasn't as much representation of people who look like me and who are disadvantaged. And when I look at Oak Springs, even though I live in the Blackshire community, it forces me to step outside of what I want, because I grew up in the Blackshire community. My brother was a teacher there. I'm interested in that community, but I'm more interested in the people who are being disproportionately affected by the decisions being made. So, I've come to the conclusion that I have to advocate for the children instead of just for my own convenience. If you look at this room when we came in, think about it, we had a lot of people They were coming from the Oxsprings community, and they had to leave because they left their children at home and
093didn't have the opportunity to stay here until 9:00 to have this conversation. So they could have come, but they had to leave. And the reason I'm staying here is because I want to go home. They said this would end at 8:00. It's not 8:00 anymore, but I have a responsibility to be here until the end to make sure that the voices that had to leave are still heard. Going back to what Jeno said, I'm always in favor of restorative justice. That means doing the right things when you see the wrong things happening. My question for us here in this room is, how do we make this happen? Because we have the young people who were up here who haven't been able to take those options, some of us in this room who say, "I just
094want my school, and they deserve it." And that fine arts academy , they should be here too, in this new school. They should be there. Now, Superintendent, we shouldn't be closing these schools, but I don't think you have any choice but to make that decision, right? When a school closes, it has to be consolidated, and I think that consolidation has to happen. So I'm just asking people at the end of the night to go home and not only consider their own children, but also think about the children who don't have the same options, the same access, including me. And then we'll make a decision. I promise you we're going to get this done. We can also send this to you by mail along with the participation report. Both are available in Spanish, and now we
095just want to go over the next steps. We're committed to giving you a decision no later than the end of the month. We have to put together that timeline, and I think it has to be decided by March. And as a reminder, registration opens on February 16th, and general transfers also open from February 16th to April 10th. To close and reopen again. And we had a match fair; I think there were 140, more than 140 people from our staff who were able to find new housing because of the schools that are consolidating, and also the job offers and relocations will be from March 23rd to April 10th. You'll hear from us by the end of the week at the latest, and also as a reminder that Black Shear's 130th anniversary is on Friday. We hope
096to see you there. Everyone, have a good night. Thank you. Mana?