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Students, parents and staff urge board to reject Paredes closure
Summary
Multiple in-person and prerecorded speakers told the board closing Paredes would harm students and communities, with a current Paredes student saying the school makes them 'want to be myself.'
Public testimony at the July 30 special meeting centered on opposition to closing Paredes Middle School. Students, parents, former staff and an anonymous AISD employee described emotional and practical harms from a late summer reassignment and called for more community input.
Emery Guerrero, a Paredes student, addressed the board in person: "I don't want Perez to close because it's a built in home for me. It makes me wanna be myself." Multiple prerecorded callers criticized the district's timeline and questioned claims about budget savings; one caller said the district had previously promised 'no more closures' and urged trustees to vote against closing. A former TEA employee and AISD teacher warned that closures have 'unquantifiable impacts' on students and families.
Though trustees acknowledged the difficulty of the vote and expressed sympathy, the board ultimately approved the reassignment. Supporters said the action was aimed at preventing state takeover risk; opponents said the process came too late for families and demanded accountability and regular oversight during implementation.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 054, topfinish SEG 283
