LEANDER, Texas — Leander Independent School District is set to vote on a school consolidation plan this Wednesday, sparking concern among parents and students at potentially impacted schools. The plan aims to address a $12.8 million deficit by considering three potential paths, including school consolidations.
Parents and students at Steiner Ranch Elementary, one of the schools facing closure, are urging the district to reconsider. Kaycee Parker, PTA president at Steiner Ranch Elementary, said the district needs to release more concrete details before voting on the plan.
ALSO: APD releases statement after recent acts of violence nationwide and worldwide
“Please wait. This is not the right decision. It’s not a logical decision. You haven’t given us a plan. You haven’t done the studies,” she said.
The proposed plan includes closing Faubion Elementary and consolidating it with Westside Elementary, Cypress Elementary with Naumann Elementary, and Steiner Ranch Elementary with Laura W. Bush Elementary and River Ridge Elementary.
“When it comes to students, making sure that we have that academic continuity from one campus to the next, counseling is absolutely critical,” Chief Operations Officer Jeremy Trimble said in a past Leander ISD meeting.
The potential changes to the Leander ISD school make-up has some students, like Connor Parker, worried about the future of their educations.
“Worried and like anxious because what if I move to a new school? What if my friends aren’t there? I’d have to make new friends. I’d have to make new teachers,” he said.
Leander ISD is also considering two other paths: adjusting staffing guidelines for lower-enrolled elementary schools and a hybrid approach combining school consolidations with staffing adjustments.
