San Felipe del Rio CISD details middle school redesign, letters sent to 2,400 families and grant questions as Garfield campus closes

San Felipe-Del Rio CISD officials told the board on Feb. 24 that rezoning letters connected to the district's middle school redesign have been released to families and that administrators are finalizing bus routes and staffing for next fall.

"We've got confirmation that middle school letters have been released, and so our parents should be seeing these letters within the next 5 to 7 days," Sandra Hernandez said during the update on the redesign and Garfield Elementary reassignments. Hernandez described mailing roughly 2,400 notices produced with a demographer to tell families which campuses students will be assigned to next fall and said sample letters were placed at trustees' desks.

The update said Garfield Elementary students will be reassigned to other elementary campuses and that New Tech Academy outreach sessions yielded 229 student registrations so far. Hernandez said parents accepted into New Tech Academy will receive follow-up acceptance letters next month and, if accepted, those students will be reassigned to San Felipe Memorial Middle School.

District staff also described behind-the-scenes logistics: librarians are barcoding and preparing library and textbook inventories so materials can be redistributed after state testing in May and June; transit staff are close to finalizing bus stops; and middle-school staffing plans are expected by the end of March.

At the board meeting, trustees pressed staff on how to track students and preserve supports when a campus number is removed. Board Vice President Orfeldt said the prospect of following students "across 6 other campuses just sounds like a nightmare headache," noting concerns about reporting and monitoring once Garfield no longer exists as a separate campus.

Jane Guarell, presenting the targeted improvement plan for Garfield Elementary and Del Rio Middle School, described diagnostics and submission timelines required by the Texas Education Agency. She said Region 15 conducted diagnostic reviews and that the district's targeted improvement plans are to be submitted through TEA's Intervention Stage Activity Manager by Feb. 28.

Guarell also told trustees the district had been awarded a LASSO instructional leadership grant and that district staff must decide whether to accept it. "We have been awarded the grant. We found out, February 20. We have until March 24 to decide if we want to participate," she said, adding that the district continues to seek TEA guidance about how dissolving or renumbering campuses affects grant eligibility and reporting.

Trustees and staff repeatedly emphasized that the priority is maintaining services for students who need interventions, including bilingual and special education supports, when those students are reassigned to receiving campuses.

The board was told further public meetings and a citizens committee review are scheduled; the district will present finalized bus-stop plans and staffing allocations next month.

The board asked several follow-up questions during the presentation about supplies (science manipulatives), whether teachers would be forced to move grade levels, and the timeline for finalizing staffing. Hernandez and other administrators said teachers would remain at the same grade level where feasible and that the principals worked to balance staff experience across the receiving campuses.

Trustees did not take action on the redesign at the Feb. 24 meeting; staff characterized the report as an operational update and next steps will return to the board for future votes.