[Excerpt]

"Harlandale trustees have voted to close Columbia Heights, Rayburn, Morrill and Carroll Bell elementary schools at the end of the school year....

Juan Cristan came with a large group of COPS/Metro community organizers who felt the announcement of the proposal to close schools came too close to spring break, making it more difficult for families to learn about the proposal and participate in town halls. He was also one of several speakers that asked the district to come up with a plan to better compete with charter schools.

“What are we going to do to stop the hemorrhaging?” Cristan asked. “What are we going to do to [stop having] the students go to KIPP, to IDEA, to Royal?”

[Photo Credit: Camille Phillips, Texas Public Radio]

Harlandale ISD Trustees Vote to Close Four Elementary Schools, Texas Public Radio [pdf]
Budget Crunch Pushes Harlandale ISD Board to Order School Closures, San Antonio Express News [pdf]
South San Antonio ISD Moves to Close Three Schools in Bid to Avert Financial Crisis, San Antonio Report [pdf]

[Excerpt]

"In December, legislators killed a controversial tax abatement program known as Chapter 313, but its effects will last decades....

“There’s no accountability at the statewide level; nobody administers it,” said Bob Fleming, an organizer with [T]he Metropolitan Organization of Houston who campaigned against Chapter 313 reauthorization back in 2021. “A bunch of local school districts make singular decisions based on what they think is in their interest. Nobody is looking out for the statewide interest. Local school districts are overmatched when the $2,000 suits walk into the room.” ....

“It’s a perverse incentive,” said Doug Greco, lead organizer at Central Texas Interfaith, one of the organizations that helped shut down reauthorization of Chapter 313 in the 2021 legislative session.

“We approach it on a school funding basis,” said Greco, who is already gearing up to fight any Chapter 313 renewal efforts in 2023. “It’s corporate welfare and the people who pay over time are Texas school districts.” ....

“The district my granddaughter goes to is losing $4 million to $5 million every year,” said Rosalie Tristan, referring to Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District. Tristan is an organizer with the community organization Valley Interfaith who lives north of McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley.

“They could be using that money to get more teachers for these students,” she said. “For a parent, or for a grandparent raising her granddaughter, it’s a hit in the gut.”

[Photo Credit: Pu Ying Huang, The Texas Tribune]

Critics Say State Tax Break Helps Petrochemical Companies and Hurts Public Schools, The Texas Tribune [pdf]

Close to 200 parent, teacher and community leaders packed the cafeteria of Beacon Hill Dual Language Academy to challenge  elected officials to work with them to improve the school.

On stage, in response to direct questions from COPS / Metro leaders, SAISD Trustee Christina Martinez committed to securing the resources to expand Beacon Hill’s dual language program, to identifying solutions to traffic issues currently leading students to wait outside in the rain during dismissals, and to securing the funding to demolish the old school (if funding for building renovation cannot be secured).

In response to leaders’ challenge, City Councilman Roberto Treviño committed to securing funding to renovate the old school building and to ensuring that the City of San Antonio would do its part to ensure the traffic-related safety of children.  State Representative Diego Bernal pledged to expand state funding for dual language programs and to work with Trustee Martinez to address issues with a Union Pacific property.

COPS / Metro leaders committed to working with each other to expand the dual language program and train for leadership development to strengthen the constituency that supports Beacon Hill Academy.

To Demolish or Renovate: Beacon Hill’s 1915 Campus Building in Limbo, Rivard Report [pdf]