Photo by Kelli WeldonParents talk about potential solutions for overcrowded schools with Austin ISD staff at a community engagement meeting April 1 at Akins High School.
Solutions to alleviate overcrowding at Austin ISD schools was a subject of concern for parents who attended a facility master plan, or FMP, active listening meeting at Akins High School in Southwest Austin on April 1.
Josh Haney, a father of a 2-year-old, said he wanted to learn about the district's plans for schools before his child enrolls in Baranoff Elementary School in a few years. Haney and others gathered around cafeteria tables to discuss boundary changes, new facilities and programs, and other options that could help solve discrepancies between over-enrolled and under-enrolled schools.
"We shared some perspective on the impacts a new school could have in terms of community ties to the school and how that can make change difficult," he said. "We also talked about the impact that any change to the transfer policy would have. We're curious to see how we can tweak the transfer policy."
The meeting was part of community engagement efforts around the district's FMP, a document that once completed will outline the current and future use of schools and other facilities and help support planning for future bond elections to fund new facilities. It will be updated as needed. AISD recently held FMP input meetings at Anderson and Eastside Memorial high schools, with additional meetings planned at Bowie and Reagan high schools.
Crowded schools, concerned parents
Much of the discussion at Akins was focused on overcrowding. Attendees urged the district to be more transparent about future boundary changes and potential school closures.
Trustees Amber Elenz, Jayme Mathias, Lori Moya and Ann Teich were in attendance to listen to attendees and respond. Moya said she wanted to hear what solutions attendees had for overcrowded and under-enrolled schools.
"The feedback I've gotten from trustees who were at the Anderson meeting surprised me in that so many of those who were attending were adamantly opposed to boundary changes [and] were advocating for more portables rather than doing a boundary change," Moya said. "That surprised me because so often you hear parents saying 'We don't want portables. Get rid of the portables.'"
A few Akins meeting attendees said their groups discussed coming up with a streamlined version of a failed May 2013 bond proposition that would have alleviated overcrowding; others disagreed and said the district should instead stay focused on the facility master plan itself.
"The [city of Austin] affordable housing bond failed the first time," Haney said. "They really focused on the messaging the second time around, and it passed. I think maybe that's a lesson that the district could study."
Kristin Ashy, PTA president of Doss Elementary School in Northwest Austin, said a bond in November to support schools with critical needs would be ideal.
"I think there were some things in that bond that people deemed as unnecessary, particularly as it pertained to things like a swimming pool and the athletic center," she said. "Personally, I believed that those things were necessary, but I think the overall feeling was there were some things that weren't critical needs. What we're talking about now is truly the health and safety of students in the public schools."
Some schools are packed, said Gina Green, parent of a kindergartener at Hill Elementary School.
"We do not have a gym, so we use the cafeteria as a gym space," she said. "We have some classes that have to eat lunch in the classroom. They don't even get to go into the cafeteria for lunch."
Opinions on boundary changes as a potential solution were mixed. A few attendees said that in general, overcrowded schools are not next to under-enrolled schools, which makes boundary changes helpful only in some cases.
Many parents say "We like the idea of boundary changes; just don't touch my family," Trustee Mathias said.
He also noted participants' interest in keeping together existing vertical teams—the high schools and the middle and elementary schools that feed into it.
What's next?
The district has received more than 410 comments so far about the FMP. Paul Turner, executive director of facilities, said comments collected at the meetings will be entered into a database and be used for FMP development and planning.
"We think this has been a good process because it really gives the participants a lot of choice," he said. "They can pick whatever topic they want to talk about, and they also have the flexibility of asking any questions that they'd like to raise."
The board made a commitment in April 2013 to complete the FMP by June 2014.
The next meeting is April 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Bowie High School. More information is available at www.austinisd.org/fmp.
