AUSTIN, Texas — On Tuesday night, Eanes ISD leaders voted unanimously to close Valley View Elementary School.
It comes after the district estimated a budget deficit of about $6.5 million. It’s an issue schools around Texas are facing.
One trustee insists leaders don’t want to close a school, but they have too. It was an emotional decision, with 39 speakers speaking in an open forum, including young students.
The Eanes ISD school district is attributing this move to a lack of significant public school funding.
Swasti Apte is concerned. With two daughters at Barton Creek Elementary, she worries about their education since the district could send more students there when they close Valley View Elementary.
“I’m concerned that an overcrowded school will compromise the children’s learning, their ability to connect, their ability to have specials and the regular cadence,” said Apte.
School closures are nothing new in Texas and the U.S. The National Center for Education Statistics reports there were 755 school closures from 2021-2022 in the U.S.
In Texas, the state hasn’t increased education funding since 2019. Monty Exter with the Association of Texas Professional Educators said that’s what this all traces back to.
“We’ve had record inflation over that same time frame,” he said. “Even if we hadn’t had record inflation, that’s still a long time to go without any sort of funding increase.”
With the Legislature back in session, Exter is hopeful lawmakers will bring forth solutions for funding.
“[If not], you’re going to see school closures, even in places where you don’t see school closures,” said Exter. “You’re going to see increased deficits, which is going to make districts have to think about what programs they’re going to keep and what programs they’re going to shut down.”
The Eanes ISD Board of Trustees also voted 5-2 to discontinue their K through 5 Spanish immersion program.