Katie Hall on elementary school closures

A day after Austin school board members approved a plan to shutter four elementary schools and consolidate students at other campuses next year, affected parents are vowing to oppose future district bond elections and the board members who supported the closures. The nine-member school board late Monday voted 6-3 to close Metz, Sims, Brooke and Pease elementaries, agreeing to the recommendations district staff had submitted and revised since September. The closures disproportionately affect Latino and black students with all but one school located in East Austin; Pease is in downtown Austin. Parents in schools slated for closure have complained of officials being opaque in the closure process and dismissive of parent concerns. Critics also accused the plan of being racist. “I cannot trust anything they say because the process has been so flawed, so dishonest, so inauthentic and just a pell-mell rush,” said Kristine Garaña, mother of two children enrolled at Pease, told the American-Statesman. The closures were part of an overall “School Changes” plan that includes providing before- and after-school care for district elementary students, working toward eliminating racial disparities in disciplinary actions, and increasing literacy for students of color and English learners by third grade. Brooke students will be split among Linder, Govalle, Sanchez and Zavala elementaries. Metz students will move to Sanchez Elementary, Sims students to Norman Elementary and Pease students to Zavala Elementary. 1/1HIDE CAPTIONPease students held signs in the back of the Austin school district board room Monday. Later in the evening, the board voted to close Pease, Metz, Sims and Brooke elementary schools in 2020 and 2021. [BRONTE WITTPENN/AMERICAN-STATESMAN] Bronte Wittpenn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices