The school board will vote Tuesday on whether to shut down Valley View Elementary and send students to Barton Creek during the next school year. Some families worry the decision is being rushed.
Barton Creek Elementary School students in the school's Spanish immersion program perform for families on Dec. 19. Eanes ISD is voting on whether to close Valley View Elementary and moving those students to Barton Creek.is more than just a school. She teared up as she described the tight-knit community where her two kids have been able to come into their own. Normally they’re shy, she said, but not at Valley View.
But parents like East and Pampe say they're concerned the two elementary schools will bear the brunt of a districtwide problem.The likelihood that Valley View Elementary families will lose their local public school is part of a painful trend that has swept across communities in Texas and the U.S. as a whole.
Eanes ISD has seen its enrollment decline in recent years, but that’s not because families are sending their kids elsewhere. About 95% of school-aged children who live within Eanes ISD’s boundaries attend one of the district’s schools. “The teachers support each other, the families support the teachers and all the kids benefit from that,” she said. “I just don’t know if that happens in a school of 700 to 800.”
“Over time if I close that campus and redeploy those staff and maybe I hire fewer staff the following year, I really can cut some significant costs,” she said. Pampe and East said they hope as the district considers where to place teachers, they do what's best for kids. East said staff at Valley View not only have years of experience in their jobs, but also years of experience working together as a team.
School Board President James Spradley underscored the need to make this decision sooner rather than later. To have a smooth transition, she said, the district needs to ensure special education services aren’t disrupted, update school safety plans, refurbish one of the playgrounds at Barton Creek and keep enrollment below 640 to prevent overcrowding.Families at Barton Creek Elementary, which has just over 500 students, have also raised concerns about what a potential influx of Valley View students could mean.