Parents voice concerns over possible school closures in Pflugerville
In the first opportunity to address the Pflugerville school district since it announced it may close several elementary schools, parents told officials they were angry and frustrated by the announcement.
At one of two community meetings on Monday night detailing plans for the possible closures, parents had the chance to give their feedback to district staff. The meetings, which will run throughout the month, provide an overview of 10 proposed plans to change attendance boundaries and possibly shutter schools, and to allow community members to provide their feedback.
District officials started off by explaining their reasoning for the proposed closures, which include low attendance rates and a lack of funding from the state. They shared the expected attendance figures if the proposed closures were accepted. Following the presentation they opened the floor to questions.
During the public comment portion of the meeting Monday night at the Dessau Elementary cafeteria, many parents shared their concerns and questions that district officials will answer in their website.
Darlene Sitler, whose children attend Dearing Elementary said she was upset because the proposals will move her kids to a school farther from home. She said displaced students will not feel comfortable and that the district needs to consider how closures will affect students with special needs.
"It makes it unfair," she said. "We moved to the area because of the school."
Her husband, Michael Sitler, said it was disingenuous for the school district officials to say they were "repurposing" campuses instead of closing them. He said it is important for the district to be clear of what they were actually doing. He also said the district had yet to address the cost of busing children to their new schools that will be farther away.
Angelica Perez said she was frustrated that there was a very short notice about the proposed closures.
Carlos Nicolas Gomez said he was concerned that the district has not said how much money will be saved by clsoing campuses, despite citing financial hardships as the reason for the possible closures.
Dana Luna, who works at Timmerman Elementary, said she wishes the district would provide staff members more details on how the proposals will affect them.
During a school board meeting on Dec. 16, Superintendent Doug Killian announced that the district would begin considering the closure of several elementary campuses and shifting attendance boundaries at all grade levels as a cost-cutting effort. Killian said the district would bring a proposal to the school board in February.
Alma Gonzalez Castillo, an executive director for the district and a member of the advisory council, said the new boundaries are needed as schools have seen a decline in enrollment since the pandemic that has not improved, and because of old buildings or low scores in specific schools.
The schools being considered for closure are Parmer Lane, River Oaks, Dessau, Spring Hill, Brook Hollow and Pflugerville elementaries.
The district will continue to host community meetings for the following two weeks. For a comprehensive list of the meetings, visit pfisd.net/domain/1594.
Elementary plans
Based on Citizen Facilities Advisory Council recommendations, there are nine proposed elementary plans, eight of which would see various elementary schools shuttered. One plan has no school closures.
Plan 1 would call for the closure of Dessau and River Oaks elementaries. Dessau students would be sent to Pflugerville, Delco and Wieland elementaries, said Kathy Hickok, the district's director of student data and demographics. River Oaks students would be transferred to Copperfield and Parmer Lane elementaries. Parmer Lane would then have to transfer students to Copperfield, Northwest and Barron elementaries.
Hickok said that under this plan, none of the schools except Pflugerville Elementary would go over capacity in the next five years. For the school year 2027-28, the school would exceed its capacity by 23 students, she said.
Plan 2 calls for the closure of Parmer Lane and Dessau elementaries. Parmer Lane students would be transferred to Copperfield, Northwest and River Oaks. Students from Dessau would be transferred to Delco and Wieland. To accommodate the new students, Delco would transfer some students to Copperfield. Hickok said that under this plan, none of the schools would go over capacity in the next five years.
Plan 5 proposes the closure of Brookhollow and Spring Hill elementaries. Brookhollow students would be transferred to Timmerman, Pflugerville and Windermere. Some students from Timmerman also would be transferred to Wieland. Students from Spring Hill would be transferred to Caldwell, Timmerman and Wieland. According to the presentation, under this plan none of the schools would go over capacity within the next five years.
Plan 6 would close Spring Hill and Dessau elementaries. Students from Parmer Lane would be transferred to Barron, Timmerman and Windermere. Students from Dessau would be transferred to Delco and Wieland. Hickok said with this plan, none of the schools would go over capacity in the next five years.
Plan 7 would have Dessau, Pflugerville and River Oaks elementary close. The plan also proposes nine different transfers of students between elementaries. If Dessau closed, students would be transferred to Delco and Wieland. Delco would transfer some students to Copperfield to accommodate. Students from Pflugerville Elementary would be transferred to Timmerman, and Timmerman would then transfer some students to Spring Hill and Windermere. River Oaks students would be transferred to Copperfield and Parmer Lane. To accommodate for an increase in students, Parmer Lane would move some students to Northwest and Copperfield , which would then move some students to Wieland. Hickok said with this plan, none of the schools would go over capacity in the next five years.
The nine proposed elementary school transfers in Plan 7 include moving students from:
Carpenter to Mott
Mott to Rowe Lane and Hidden Lake
Highland Park to Caldwell
Brookhollow to Windermere
Timmerman to Windermere and Spring Hollow
Riojas to Hidden Lake
Rowe Lane to Dearing
Dearing Elementary to Highland Park
Murchinson to Brookhollow
Plan 8 proposes no school closures but calls for eight different transfers of students between elementaries. The proposed transfers include transferring students from:
Carpenter to Pflugerville
Mott to Rowe Lane
Rowe Lane to Dearing
Riojas to Hidden Lake
Dearing to Highland Park
Murchinson to Brookhollow
Brookhollow to Timmerman
According to the presentation, the transfers will not impact under-enrolled campuses in the southwest portion of the district.
This plan estimates that none of the schools except Rowe Lane would go over capacity within the next five years. Rowe Lane has a capacity of 850 and will be over capacity during the 2023-24 school year by 15 students, officials said.
High school plans
The district's Citizen Facilities Advisory Council also recommended two plans that will affect high school boundaries.
The first plan would transfer some students to Hendrickson, Pflugerville and Connally high schools. Some students in Hendrickson would be transferred to Pflugerville High. Under this plan, none of the campuses would go over capacity in the next five years, officials said. It is expected that Weiss would return to being a 5A campus. Currently the campus is classified as 6A.
According to the presentation. the plans would help overcrowding at Weiss and allow for better campus efficiency. The plan also would create more space at Hendrickson and Weiss.
Plan 2 would move some students from Weiss to Connally, Hendrickson and Pflugerville High. Students from Hendrickson would be moved to Pflugerville and some students from Pflugerville to Connolly. Under plan 2, none of the campuses would go over capacity in the next five years.
More detailed versions of the plans can be found at pfisd.net/Page/8784.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Parents voice concerns over possible school closures in Pflugerville
