Parents, staff and community members took the mic one after another for the first time last week to express how they felt about the Austin Independent School District’s school consolidation plan. Some worried about the social and academic continuity of their children, others about layoffs. Many mentioned the possible impact on low-income communities and emerging bilingual students.
The school board’s meeting Thursday was its first since the district had published the plan, which proposes to close 13 district campuses, redraws school attendance boundaries and makes changes to which schools offer dual language programs.
Officials say the plan will help them save $25 million amid a $19.7 million budget deficit. It would also help avoid state intervention after some schools have gotten low ratings multiple years in a row from the Texas Education Agency…