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Parents urge Austin ISD to keep Maplewood Elementary off closure list
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Summary
Two recorded callers told trustees the district should not close Maplewood Elementary, saying it serves more than 400 students, costs about 21% less per pupil than the district average, and that closure savings would be modest compared with community harm.
Recorded public comments played at the April 7 Austin ISD work session urged the board to remove Maplewood Elementary from a closure list the district is considering as part of FY2026–27 budget strategies.
An unnamed caller told trustees Maplewood is a “thriving neighborhood school” that serves more than 400 children and costs about 21% less per student than the district average. The caller said closing Maplewood would likely save “maybe $500,000 to $1,000,000” but would “harm the neighborhood and the rest of the parents.”
Daniel Morrison, an AISD parent who also left a recorded message, echoed that closing a cost-efficient, high-demand campus would “exacerbate the district's budget issues by driving parents out of the district and towards private education.”
Board response and context: President Boswell acknowledged the callers and returned the meeting to guardrails and budget discussion; trustees and administrators said closure considerations are among many potential strategies (including property monetization, vacancy savings and other reductions) that will be further refined in coming weeks. No formal decision on Maplewood was made during the session.
What the callers said (representative quotes): "It's a thriving neighborhood school that our community depends on. Serves over 400 children." "Please remove Maplewood from the closure list." — recorded caller "It doesn't make sense to close it." — Daniel Morrison, AISD parent
What’s next: the administration will present a preliminary budget April 23 with more detailed, itemized strategies. Trustees signaled they will continue community engagement and are calling for named reductions rather than broad buckets before final budget adoption on June 18.
