Parents, students and alumni urge Austin ISD to keep librarians and halt surplus-designation of neighborhood schools

Dozens of community members urged the Austin Independent School District board on April 9 to keep full‑time school librarians and to reconsider plans to label neighborhood campuses as surplus amid a budget shortfall.

A sixth‑grader, Mary Margaret Mason, told trustees that “librarians are the heart of libraries,” describing campus librarians as key to student engagement and safety. Several recorded callers and in‑person speakers repeated that theme, saying cutting librarian positions would harm early literacy and leave families without access to books and trained library staff.

Parent and teacher testimony described librarians’ classroom and schoolwide roles beyond shelving books: Kristin Davis said librarians “teach internet safety, support teachers, and are a fixed asset” at her campus, and other speakers noted librarians deliver lessons, coordinate book fairs and provide social and emotional supports for students.

Community speakers also pressed the board on property and consolidation decisions. Parents and neighborhood advocates from the Golden Creek area implored trustees not to designate Becker (sometimes called Decker in testimony) Elementary as surplus property, saying the land was donated with stipulations for educational use and that selling central green spaces would harm a park‑deficient neighborhood. A caller identifying as Neil, a UT‑area professor, asked trustees to consider Blackshear’s fate within broader consolidation discussions rather than making a separate closure decision.

Several callers representing the Robertson Home Neighborhood Association and Blackshear families said the community was blindsided by closure proposals and asked trustees to delay any final decisions until the district’s consolidation process was complete. “It would be a shame to lose a historic site like Blackshear Elementary,” one parent said.

Trustees and the superintendent answered procedural questions about surplus designation and the property process, with staff explaining that marking a school as surplus is an administrative step that enables district exploration of options — including repurposing, community partnerships, leases or, eventually, sale — and that any transaction would require board approval and a separate process.

The board heard repeated requests for more transparency and community engagement. Trustees asked staff to provide clearer timelines and documentation of community meetings related to consolidation and to give written updates on the Yellow Jacket Stadium management concerns raised by alumni.

The public comment period closed after about 60 recorded messages and four in‑person speakers. Trustees reminded members of the public that they can also submit comments in writing to trustees@austinisd.org and that the district is limited in responding to off‑agenda items during information sessions.