A group of East Austin stakeholders alleging institutional racism in Austin ISD plans to form a political action committee to oppose the district's $1 billion bond package.

Save East Austin Schools is calling on the district to redistribute funds to address underenrollment at several East Austin schools at risk for closure, according to a press conference delivered by the group prior to tonight's regular board meeting. Those schools include Metz, Sanchez, Norman and Brooke elementary schools and Sadler-Means Young Women's Leadership Academy.

The group is threatening to vote down the district's bond in November if changes are not made to the recently updated Facilities Master Plan, which provides an outline for the long-term modernization of schools across AISD.

"The bond process was and is critically flawed," said Monica Sanchez, co-founder of Save East Austin Schools. "The bond, if passed with the current Facilities Master Plan, would continue Austin ISD's and the city of Austin's long history of institutional racism. We call on Austinites to participate in creating more equitable and integrated solutions."

To keep the schools from closure, included in the group's proposal are options to sell district properties that do not house functioning schools to fund underenrolled campuses; limit transfers out of the underenrolled schools; and promote enrollment by inviting newcomers and providing cultural sensitivity training for children, staff and parents.

Sanchez was especially critical of the funding of new schools included in the bond package.

“How do you justify new schools when we are strapped for funds and have a gaping underenrollment issue?" she said.

The district's Facilities Master Plan, which served as the basis for projects included in the $1 billion bond package, has been widely criticized by the East Austin community and trustee Ted Gordon for favoring schools west of I-35.

Through providing "millions of dollars for predominately white West Austin schools and far less for predominately Latino and African-American, East Austin schools," Save East Austin Schools members said the Facilities Master Plan reinforces institutional racism.

After several iterations of the bond were put before trustees, a northeast middle school was re-added to the package one week prior to the board's vote to call the bond in June.