Nearly 70% of Lake Travis ISD parents plan to send kids to school in August

Lake Travis ISD officials reviewed the results of a parent survey focused on operations for the 2020-21 school year during a June 17 virtual board meeting. Superintendent Brad Lancaster said he was personally surprised by some of the responses related to social distancing.

The survey ran from June 4-10 and saw over 8,000 online participants, nearly 11% of whom said they will not return to campus in August.

LTISD has not released official reopening plans as the district is still awaiting guidance from state and county officials. According to Lancaster, the Texas Education Agency may provide updates as early as next week.

Prior to receiving these guidelines, LTISD hoped to gain insight into parent’s expectations and overall feedback, Lancaster said. The district will begin the school year Aug. 19, using a remote, in-person or hybrid learning model.

The survey indicates that 69.2% of parents plan to send their children to school in August if permitted. About 17.9% of parents responded saying they were still unsure.

What Lancaster said was surprising was the number of survey comments in opposition to social distancing and other safety guidelines. An LTISD parent submitted a statement to the meeting’s open forum session, speaking out against any face mask requirements for children. Lancaster emphasized LTISD has not made any decisions regarding face masks.

“I’ve been surprised at the number of people who said we will not tolerate social distancing guidelines," Lancaster said, adding that parents have said, "'We want to go back to school normally, five days a week, full time, make it happen.'”

Lancaster went on to emphasize that guidelines of this nature may fall outside of the district’s authority.

If it is not feasible for LTISD to run school operations normally due to capacity limitations, 54.6% of parents would prefer an alternating day schedule. 30.4% of parents prefer a separate morning and afternoon schedule. The remainder of parents opted for an alternating week schedule or a different option.

Transportation plans have also proven difficult when accounting for social distancing guidelines. LTISD has what Lancaster called an unusually high school bus ridership. Within a typical district, about 33% of students take the bus, according to Lancaster, who said that rate is about 50% at LTISD.

Approximately 24% of parents will not allow their child to ride the bus for the 2020-21 school year, and about 51.7% said they would. The remainder were undecided.

Outside of the survey, officials have also received comments from parents advocating for the district to release a final decision on the upcoming school year. Lancaster said these comments are rolling in on a daily basis.

“We’re hearing from some people every day, [saying], 'Just make a decision, tell us, show some leadership,'” Lancaster said. “I think those are unrealistic expectations, and I don’t think anybody on this board believes that we’re being timid or afraid or cautious or that we’re just not working on it.”

At the time of the June 17 meeting, Lancaster noted no district in Texas can confirm what the exact guidelines will be for re-entry.