The AISD Board of Trustees unanimously approved an interim plan on Tuesday to relieve overcrowding at a dozen schools sometime in May. The plan calls for an expenditure of $1.2 million, to be paid for with interest earnings on bond sales, to build or move 66 portable buildings — with the notable exception of Bowie High School, which is undertaking its so-named “Mayflower Project,” whereby the school’s schedule will be altered to include nighttime courses.
In order to make space to do new construction at Linder Elementary School, located in the Travis Heights “annex” area, seven portables will be removed from the site and at least 250 students will be reassigned to nearby Metz and Sanchez Elementaries. “Nearby” being a relative term, trustee Geoff Rips asked if those children will have transportation to their new schools. (“No, they’re gonna walk,” a couple of audience members murmured sarcastically.) Yes, yes, buses will be provided to those very young children; and if, after the construction is finished, the transferred kids still want to stay at Metz or Sanchez until the end of their elementary school careers instead of going back to Linder, they may do so.
These days, trustees Rips and Liz Hartman are often sticking together on many issues, and this week was no exception. Both expressed a concern that when it comes to bond construction in AISD, the squeaky wheel will get the grease. That is to say, school communities with the ability to rally around the cause of getting rapid relief from overcrowding will indeed be served first, while school communities that may have just as great a need for relief, but no such organizational power behind them, will get short shrift. “This whole issue bothers me when I see such an unreal understanding of what [some others’ needs are] — and we’re really not addressing them,” said Hartman.
Hartman was referencing comments made by several speakers (who hailed from Southwest Austin) during citizens’ communications. They demanded relief in the form of new classrooms and wondered what the hell could be the holdup on breaking ground for their three new schools in the southwest area, since the $369 million bond issue was passed a year ago. They were just parents who are legitimately frustrated with ridiculously and dangerously overcrowded schools, but their tone clearly rankled — particularly because they teetered on the edge of accusing AISD staff and the board outright of sitting on their thumbs, of doing “nothing” to alleviate the situation.
That’s clearly not the case, as the board approves several bond program initiatives at every single board meeting — be it schematic designs, architectural firms, plans, construction companies, etc. But things just don’t move fast enough for a parent whose child has to eat lunch at 10:30am or 1pm because the cafeteria can’t handle all the kids at a reasonable lunch hour.
Trustees also heard a report on the district’s Absent Student Assistance Program (ASAP), a two-year old collaborative effort between AISD and Travis County to reel in truant middle school students. Referrals to the program increased by 44% between fall 1995 and fall 1996. Nearly 19,000 (!) truant children were visited by a Travis County constable this year, which lowered the absentee rate by 7.6%, and increased state funding to schools by an estimated $155, 252. It’s not for nothing that the Chronicle named ASAP the best collaboration between AISD and law enforcement in our 1996 Best of Austin issue.
This article appears in April 25 • 1997 and April 25 • 1997 (Cover).