Dozens of parents, students and residents told the Leander Independent School District Board of Trustees during the meeting that proposed closures and repurposings of neighborhood elementary schools — including Steiner Ranch and Cypress — would harm students and neighborhoods and should be delayed for more study and community input. "Closing Steiner or any other schools should be a last priority," said Charlotte Martin, a fifth-grader at Steiner Ranch Elementary. "There are so many other ways to save money, and I think if we get together as a community, we can come up with a creative solution." The speakers pressed the board to slow the long-range planning process and provide clearer data, arguing that recent changes to capacity calculations, the district's staffing plan and bond-era investments make current closure proposals premature. "Capacity calculations are being used to justify closures but when a school's capacity increases 32% overnight on paper only, we need to ask critical questions," said a parent who noted differences across campuses and the use of portables. Why it matters: Trustees will consider formal recommendations this fall after administration holds community listening sessions; parents said decisions will affect walkability, family engagement, property values and low-income students who walk to neighborhood schools. Superintendent Dr. Gehring laid out an implementation timeline during the meeting: campus listening sessions through August, a process update with PASA at the August 21 board meeting, board review and reflection on Sept. 18 and possible board decisions on Oct. 9. Key details and concerns raised by speakers - Neighborhood school impact: Multiple Steiner Ranch speakers said the campus functions as a neighborhood hub, noting teachers who “know our kids by name” and residents’ decisions to move into the area for the school. Bob Riley, a Steiner Ranch resident, said he heard an explicit bond-era assurance that Steiner would not close. - Equity and program space: Several speakers argued that older schools require flexible spaces for pull-outs, dyslexia support and other services — space that newer buildings were designed to include. One community speaker said the district’s capacity metrics count classrooms but not what those rooms are used for. - Capacity numbers and portables: Public comments cited specific capacity and historical-usage figures: speakers asserted Cypress Elementary’s newly listed capacity at 860 students while Whitestone (same footprint) was reported to have eight portables; historical peaks were cited for Cypress (about 890 students with 12 portables in 2003) and Nauman (14 portables in 2006–2016). A speaker said Steiner Ranch’s recorded functional capacity changed from 674 to 879, and that the campus currently shows about 62% of functional capacity under the new calculations. - Transportation, walkability and vulnerable students: Community members stressed that closing walkable neighborhood schools would particularly burden families in nearby apartment complexes and low‑income households who currently walk or bike to school; speakers said longer bus rides would reduce family engagement. - Process and data requests: Speakers asked for line‑item cost estimates for proposed options, clear explanations of how capacity calculators were applied, and evidence of traffic or safety studies for rezoning scenarios. Several asked the board to pause decisions until those materials are posted and discussed. District response and next steps Superintendent Dr. Gehring told trustees the administration will host campus-based listening sessions (August 25–28 for affected campuses), present recommendations to the board on Sept. 18 for review, and ask for decisions on Oct. 9. Multiple trustees asked administration to return with more context tying the low-enrollment elementary review to other district choices (bond planning, open enrollment, master-schedule impacts and middle- and high-school projections). Ending: Speakers concluded by asking trustees to prioritize neighborhood schools and student stability over near-term cost savings; the board did not take a vote on closures at the meeting and directed staff to continue community conversations and refine recommendations for fall action.