As previously reported by Local Profile, Allen ISD is making plans to deal with overcrowding at some elementary schools on the west side of Expressway 75 by repurposing the less attended campuses on the east side. The first community meeting to discuss the matter took place on October 6 and 100 parents attended to voice their frustrations.
Parents were presented with the district’s school realignment plan, which would require students from Anderson and Rountree Elementary schools to be resigned to different schools next year.
Anderson is the most affected school in the plan, with 406 students moving to Olson, two miles away. In addition to overcrowding in the western schools, a newly adopted state requirement mandates that the district has to provide full-day pre-kindergarten, which is why the district is looking to turn Anderson into an early childhood campus.
Rountree Elementary is facing similar changes. According to WFAA, around 350 students will move to Story Elementary, while Rountree will be repurposed for non-instructional programming needs.
The district also gave another reason for the proposed map: financial. They argue that schools with less attendance are costing taxpayers more per student, roughly $10,000 a year, than schools that are at near capacity which seats at $6000.
But some parents aren’t happy about the proposal. Close to 100 parents showed up Thursday at the meeting looking forward to giving their input on the matter, only to find that the district asked them to write their thoughts down.
“Once again Allen ISD is trying to silence parents. They are not letting us speak at the meeting tonight,” said Michelle Boren, a mother of one of Anderson’s students who attended the meeting. Boren told NBC DFW that parents were only given “input papers” which started with the question “What do you believe are the benefits of this specific proposal map?”
The next community meeting will be held on November 2, followed by another board meeting on November 14 to present the plan during a board workshop and finally presenting the plan for approval on November 28. According to CBS DFW, parents said they will definitely be at those meetings addressing the board.
