Parents deliver school closure data

AUSTIN (KXAN) - While students at Barton Hills Elementary scramble to get their science fair projects done by the Thursday deadline, their parents have been researching and collecting data, too.

"The numbers just don't add up," said Jason Sabo, a parent of a fifth grader. "The schools are operating efficiently."

It is an argument parents are trying to prove in a 121-page book they released Monday in response to suggestions from a facilities task force to close nine Austin schools they claim are not operating at full capacity.

"To say that a school that has a sea of portables is underutilized - I can only believe that the task force simply didn't have the opportunity to come to our school," said Sabo.

Numbers the task force have been using do not give an accurate picture of how many students are going to each school. At the advice of consultants , transfer students are not included in the overall numbers.

The Austin Independent School District released the number of transfer students currently enrolled at the campuses in question:

• Barton Hills Elementary: 187/386
• Brooke ES: 13/439
• Joslin ES: 59/363
• Oak Springs ES: 17/274
• Ortega ES: 26/296
• Pease ES: 256/256
• Sanchez ES: 53/585
• Zilker ES: 184/522
• Pearce Middle School: 8/329

"All the basic data says is that the neighborhood around that school is not sending enough students to that school to fill that school up," said Richard Frazier, Task Force Co-Chair and orchestra director at Anderson High School.

Parents also have a major problem with the fact student success was not taken into consideration.

"How can we possibly be analyzing whether or not our schools are operating efficiently if we're not factoring in whether or not they're actually educating our kids?" asked Sabo.

Six of the eight elementary campuses up for closure have earned "exemplary" state ratings. Parents and  Education Austin - the AISD teachers union - believe there are other ways to close the budget gap.

"Why are the kids getting cut first before we're looking at reducing administrative overhead? Maybe selling the AISD headquarters building downtown?" asked Sabo.