Former Allen ISD Trustee Explains Why He Resigned After Vote of Controversial Proposal

A plan meant to ease overcrowding in Allen ISD that was met with protests from parents who opposed the idea due to the impact on where their kids go to school was approved on Monday night.

In a 6-to-1 vote, the Allen Board of Trustees voted to close two schools, Anderson and Rountree Elementary, on the east side of town.

The district plans to re-purpose the buildings, one to be used as an early education center and the other for non-instructional use.

Allen ISD said it’s all part of the plan to help the district prepare to meet a state requirement to provide full-day pre-kindergarten, address budgeting trouble, overcrowding on the west side of town and slow enrollment on the east side.

Parents who are upset about the vote said their kids will now have to travel further away from home to get to school.

“We’re sad because we live so close to Anderson and so far from Olson, it’s going to be tricky getting the kids to school in the morning,” said Michelle Boren, whose fourth-grade son will have to attend a new school next year.

Boren said she and other parents felt like the district did not listen to what they had to say and the research they brought forward.

“We’re sad, we’re heartbroken we’re disappointed with the process and we’re sad to lose the one board member who was really on our side,” expressed Boren.

After the vote took place on Monday, school board member Vatsa Ramanathan, the only person to vote against the proposal, stepped down.

“It was not because of the vote. It was because of the whole process that the school district went through,” said Ramanathan.

He sat on the board for the last six years and had planned on running for re-election until now.

“It is like if I’m not doing justice for what I have been elected for, then I thought that there’s no point in staying,” said Ramanathan.

He said he was told by another board member to not speak to parents during the process of the hot-buttoned issue. During the meeting, another board member denounced that.

“I was told not to go talk to anybody. So when I heard that, I was like, ‘Why, what are we hiding?’ So anyway, I went ahead and spoke to the parents,” said Ramanathan.

“The initial impression that was created about the parents was that they are very emotional and they don’t know what they’re doing, and stuff like that. And I also believed that because, yeah, if a school is closing where your kids are going, then you’re definitely going to be emotional, and I was also emotionally attached to that school because my kids went there. But as a school board member, I cannot let my sentiment influence my decisions. So I kept the emotions aside. I wanted to see exactly what is the data that was presented, and how things are going to work out. Surprisingly, what I inferred from the data analysis that I did was the same inference that these parents had come to,” said Ramanathan who also works in the field of analyzing data for a tech company.

He said he didn’t understand the rush to move the proposal forward and felt like there were many unanswered questions from the committee that proposed the plan.

“One of the committee members had written to us in an email saying that we have to just take a step back and think about it in a different angle. If a committee member who was involved in bringing this proposal to the board says, ‘let’s take a step back’ and many others in the committee says, ‘That is right we need to pause,’ then why the urgency?” questioned Ramanathan.

He said the district has a waiver with the state for the following year to delay the start of full-time early childhood education.

An Allen ISD spokesman provided a statement from the district regarding Monday’s decision:

“Last night’s vote by the Board of Trustees concludes a multi-year analysis of Allen ISD’s enrollment and demographic forecasts. Following the approval of the new boundary adjustments, Allen ISD will be able to address issues related to overcrowding at several campuses, declining enrollment at several campuses, 3,000 open elementary seats across the district, the upcoming implementation of full-day prekindergarten, and considerations related to financial efficiency.

Our families love their schools, and redrawing attendance boundaries is never an easy process. Ultimately, this endeavor was conducted with a focus on the long-term success of this District for the benefit of all students. Our focus will remain on delivering exceptional learning experiences and opportunities for every student who attends an Allen ISD school.

Ramanathan’s opinion was to bring some kids from the West side to even out the overcrowding.

“If you have overcrowded schools, then do you close schools? It doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

During a work meeting, he asked how many kids had been moved over.

Ramanathan said he had spoken with other school board members who agreed with his points, but when it was time to vote, they went a different direction.

“So that was a little bit of disappointment for me,” he said.

Allen ISD is facing a $5 million deficit and it’s another reason that the district said the closing of the two schools.

“When we are in this situation, why would you spend money to make an early childhood center? There are a lot of unanswered questions. What are you going to do with that other building that you’re going to close? There is no plan on what they want to do about that building,” he questioned.

He added that to address the issue of kids from Anderson Elementary who will now have to travel to Olson Elementary, the district will provide transportation even though it’s within the 2-mile marker.

“It’s a good thing, but what is the expense that is involved in this? What is the expense in repurposing Anderson? What is the expense in maintaining Rountree Elementary after it is closed? And what are we going to do with that building?” he continued to question.

“These are so many unanswered questions and so many unhappy parents and when we are elected by the parents we are elected by the community and if they are coming up with valid questions and valid concerns. Why do this in a haste?” He said.

When asked why he wouldn’t stay to offer a differing view in the future on the board, he said, “If I am the only one talking about it and I don’t get even support from any other school board members to put even an item on an agenda. Then what good is it? I mean it is like talking to the wall. So I am better off. I mean I love to do what I did as a school board member but these are the things that kind of restricted my ability to do the fullest,” said Ramanathan.

As to what will happen to his seat, the district said in a statement, “In regard to Vatsa Ramanathan, a resignation is not effective until it is submitted in writing and with a signature to the presiding officer. The resignation becomes effective when it is accepted by the Board of Trustees or on the eighth day after it has been received, whichever is earlier, per policy.”

Content Source

Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News

texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Back to top button