Questions, anger linger as Uvalde schools prep for fall
Chief among the considerations that Uvalde school district leaders will discuss regarding their fall reopening plan Monday night is where to relocate the 500 students who attended the now-closed Robb Elementary, where 21 students and teachers were killed May 24.
The special meeting agenda said the discussion — “in an orderly fashion” — is to focus on “the changes and updates for the 2022-2023 school year, to include questions regarding safety and security plans.” It was unclear whether discussions would include the fate of Pete Arredondo, the school district’s police chief suspended with pay shortly after Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw blamed him for the failure of law enforcement officers to rapidly confront the shooter.
The escalating anger at the police response — and at the transparency of the investigations— has been on weekly display at City Council meetings. Arredondo resigned from the council days before the release of video Tuesday showing dozens of officers from multiple agencies waiting in a hallway outside the two Robb classrooms where surviving victims spent more than an hour before they were rescued and the gunman was killed.
On Friday, the school district announced the 45minute special meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, just before its regular monthly meeting, “specifically to offer the opportunity for open dialogue with our community.”
The agenda did include a resolution to send to Gov. Greg Abbott, and trustees were expected to set a start date for the fall semester that will be later than usual.
“The delay will allow us to better address staff and student needs for a successful school year,” Harrell wrote.
The district is working with the Texas Education Agency and the Texas School Safety Center to conduct safety and security audits of all district property. The agencies have provided initial recommendations that the district is acting on with $1 million in funding donated by the Las Vegas Raiders.
Current projects include the installation of new perimeter fencing, adding security cameras, upgrading doors, door locks and access points and hiring additional district police officers and security personnel. Harrell said interviews for new officers started this week.
“Orders are being placed right now,” Anne Marie Espinoza, the district’s spokeswoman, said Thursday. “It is our hope and intent these get done before the first day of school happens.”
The district’s own budget will cover salaries for the additional security personnel after the Raiders’ donation runs out. But other gifts from a sympathetic nation have been mentioned in the district’s recent back-to-school announcements.
School supplies for every student will be free, donated by a partnership of Goldman Sachs and Education Products, Inc. in a gift worth $100,000, the district’s parent-teacher organizations said.
“Kits will ship directly to your child’s campus to be given to their teacher and will be available for you at Meet the Teacher in August,” the district said Friday.
Robb Elementary will be demolished and a new school constructed to replace it, made possible by $10 million pledged by HE-B and the family of its chairman, Charles Butt.
The district previously said most Robb students would be shifted to Flores Elementary, but after some adjustments, Robb’s second and third graders now are slated to attend Uvalde Elementary as third and fourth graders, Harrell wrote.
Uvalde Elementary is a new creation, to be located at the Benson Educational Complex. Robb Elementary teachers, staff and administrators will move with them.
Fourth graders who were at Robb will become fifth graders at Flores Elementary. Dalton Elementary’s first graders, who normally would have gone to Robb as second graders, will stay at Dalton another year.
“The Flores change is because, as we started looking at different plans, the Benson campus lends itself for an elementary because it was one before,” Espinoza said. “It will allow us more adequate space and resources to meet all the needs of our students and not squeeze four grade levels onto one campus.”
Crossroads Academy, an alternative high school, had been at the Benson Educational Complex but will be relocated to provide more space for the Uvalde Elementary students.
“As we continue to prepare for the 2022-2023 school year, a lot of work is still to be done, and many questions are yet to be answered,” Harrell wrote. “We are committed to working with you to understand your concerns so that they can be appropriately addressed and we will continue to share updates and information throughout the summer.”