SAN ANTONIO — Kids, parents and teachers, passionate about their schools got a chance to speak their minds Monday night at the last of three planned community meetings on the recommendations from Edgewood ISD's "Rethink and Redesign" task force.
Most of the recommendations could result in school closures, some starting as early as next year.
District leaders said that since 2017 its enrollment has fallen by nearly 22%,
stressing that the district as a whole is at half capacity and its resources are starting to stretch thin.
"We had to do a deficit budget this year just to give raises and keep up with insurance costs," said Edgewood Superintendent Eduardo Hernández.
The District said a plan will not be finalized until it takes the communities feedback into account.
"This is a multi-year conversation, and it starts now," Hernández said.
the Edgewood community filled the Memorial High School auditorium Monday night to speak out on the options in front of them.
Monday's session was the last of three community meetings that presented the findings of the task force and allowed for community feedback. The first meeting was held on Thurday. They are still seeking feedback online.
A task force made up of parents – teachers – and school board members spent two months developing recommendations for the future of Edgewood ISD. Many suggest combining elementary schools.
multiple people at the listening sessions said that the process felt rushed.
"The timeline for when these changes are quite small," An Edgewood alumni commented during Thursday's meeting.
"Why now? Why so fast?" a parent echoed the point Monday.
One parent of a Loma Park Elementary student cautioned the district that closing certain schools could end-up losing them more students to charter schools.
"They're only going there because it's Loma Park," she said.
Depending which options get included in the districts final plan, it could mean school closures starting in the 2024-25 school year.
A student at Edgewood Fine Arts Academy said the school's unique programming allows students with disabilities or those who are not well served by traditional learning environments the opportunity to thrive.
"This school provides us who are outcasts… somewhere where we can find a home," she said.
Edgewood has a detailed look at the recommendations so far here.
Not all 11 options can happen. Some are not compatible with others. For instance, the Gardendale Early Learning Program is mentioned in three of the options, either closing, reconfigure, or absorbing students from another school.
Hernandez said the public's input on which schools or programs they they find the most valuable can help the district tailor the final plan to the needs of the district and provide each of their students with more resources.
"We might be able to solve some of this by just making some precise, strategy, strategic recommendations for this next school year, 24-25," Hernández said.
The district said the task force based the recommendations on six factors:
1. Enrollment
2. Financial impact
3. Geographical location
4. Facility condition ranking
5. Instructional programming
6. Academic accountability
Edgewood has provided an FAQ on the "Rethink, Redesign" project on it's website. Questions and feedback can be sent to rrtaskforce@eisd.net.