CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 After weeks of emotional public testimony and eight community listening sessions, trustees voted Tuesday night to approve a plan that will close seven schools across the district.<\/p>\n
The plan calls for the closure of Fannin, Kostoryz, Sanders and Travis elementary schools, along with Browne, Haas and Martin middle schools.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Dr. Roland Hernandez acknowledged the impact of the decision ahead of the vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe fully recognize and understand these decisions are not easy, the toll it takes on community, students, administrators,\u201d Hernandez said.<\/p>\n
Before the final vote, trustees made several attempts to amend the plan. Trustee Marty Bell proposed voting on each school individually, but the motion failed. Trustee Alice Upshaw Hawkins also proposed removing Travis Elementary from the closure list, which failed as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s going to be a lot of angst tonight and probably for years to come,\u201d Hawkins said during the discussion.<\/p>\n
Other trustees framed the decision as necessary, citing long-term financial responsibility as the district faces a projected $27 million budget deficit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want future boards to look at this and say, \u2018Wow \u2014 how did we get here? so, part of that is making some really tough decisions.” trustee Steve Barrera said.<\/p>\n
In the end, trustees approved the plan on a 4-3 vote.<\/p>\n
District leaders emphasized the closures will not happen overnight. Transition plans for students, staff and transportation are expected to be developed in the coming months ahead of the next school year.<\/p>\n
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