HOUSTON — Spring Branch ISD has voted to close two schools, Treasure Forest Elementary and Panda Path School for Early Learning, and discontinue the SKY partnership between SBISD and two public charter school programs.
The school closings and end of the YES Prep Public Schools and KIPP Texas Public Schools partnerships take effect in the 2024-25 school year.
Editor's note: The video above originally aired in November before the vote was taken.
“Our Board of Trustees and administration take very seriously what closing schools and ending long-standing programs means for our students, families, staff and community. These are decisions we had hoped we would not have to make," SBISD Board President Chris Earnest said Tuesday.
The district cites a $35 million budget shortfall for the upcoming school year and blames the Texas Legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott.
“The blame lies squarely with our state leaders and elected officials who have failed the children of Texas and SBISD," Earnest said. "We find it reprehensible that Governor Abbott has willfully chosen to neglect 5.5 million Texas public school students and educators while sitting on the largest budget surplus in state history.”
Despite a historic $32.7 billion budget surplus on hand, some lawmakers hoped to tackle issues like school funding and teacher shortages. Instead, a fight over school vouchers and squabbles between the Texas Senate and House derailed bills that would have injected billions of dollars into public schools, the Texas Tribune reported.
“We remain angry and disappointed that throughout the 88th Legislative Session and four subsequent special sessions, individuals elected to represent us could not pass a single piece of legislation to provide much needed funding for our public schools," Board Vice President Lisa Alpe stated. "That’s ZERO new money since 2019, while our costs have escalated due to double-digit inflation."
SBISD said the actions taken by the board at a special meeting on Monday will save a projected $8.8 million a year.
These cost-saving resolutions approved in November will save another $2.9 million a year, according to the district.
- Changing staffing ratios for high schools
- Aligning high school schedules
- Increasing Pre-K tuition and adjusting Pre-K Center boundaries
- Pausing the bond program for the remaining 2017 Bond Program elementary school rebuilds
The district will also redesign its SPIRAL gifted and talented program for third through fifth grade students with annual projected savings of $762,744.
SBISD said they also plan to cut staff positions in the central office to help close the remaining gap of $23 million. Those job cuts will be reflected in the board's budget next spring.
“The magnitude of what we are addressing is significant," SBISD Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Blaine said in November. "Thirty-five million dollars doesn’t just come in programs; it comes in salaries. Every single part of our school district is going to be impacted by the time this is all said and done.”
Blaine said the district learned from the devastating budget cuts made in 2011 when state budget challenges forced districts statewide to take significant reductions with very little time to develop a plan.
“We will not let the leaders in Austin take us down. The harder they try to destroy public education, the harder we will work to make sure our students continue to succeed at the very highest levels and SBISD remains a destination district for families and educators, even if we have to do things differently,” Dr. Blaine said.