Parents and students of the Carroll Medical Academy packed the Carroll ISD board room on Monday night to express concerns about changes to the program.

The Carroll Medical Academy is an advanced high school academic program for students who are interested in pursuing careers within the medical field. The program is designed for students in grades 9-12.

Concerns mainly surrounded the retirement of Dr. Becki Rollins, who was the designated counselor of Carroll Medical Academy students. Parents learned of a staff plan that stated to not assign another designated counselor to replace Rollins. Instead, the students would be dispersed to different counselors.

One of the parents who spoke said he is concerned that the lack of a designated counselor will affect the quality of letter of recommendations for CMA students.

"How well of a letter of recommendation can a counselor write if they only work with the student for a year?" the parent said.

Parents also expressed concerns about scheduling issues stating that students are dropping out the program due to the program being offered during the last block of the day.

Although no action can be taken from public comments, Carroll ISD trustees said they want to review the information provided Monday night.

"We want to meet their needs as much you want to meet their needs," said trustee Michelle Moore, who has a child in the Carroll Medical Academy program. "It is a high priority of ours. ... I want to thank you for so candidly bringing up your concerns and making us aware of some of the repercussions of the decision."