Spring Branch ISD board meeting shut down after hundreds packed into administration building

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Monday night's Spring Branch ISD board meeting came to an abrupt halt after hundreds of parents, students, teachers, and community members packed the administration building, creating fire hazard concerns for officials.

Last week, the Board of Trustees passed the first phase of resolutions to save about $2.9 million. It included adjusting the staffing ratios for high schools, increasing Pre-K tuition, and pausing rebuilds for four remaining elementary schools from the 2017 Bond Program.

This week, they began a discussion on what could be next in phase two of budget cuts. Up for consideration is the end of their SKY Partnership with charter school programs, which is an acronym for Spring Branch ISD, KIPP, and YES Prep. It could also impact programs for gifted and talented students, such as SPIRAL.

The district projects it would make up about $6.2 million in the budget if these programs are eliminated or scaled back.

RELATED: Parents plead Spring Branch ISD to save charter school programs during budget cut meeting

Lisa Alpe, board vice president, explained to ABC13 Monday that the budget shortfall came from a combination of the "perfect storm" with record inflation and no additional money from the state since 2019. She said the district's hands are tied until Texas legislators can address the need for more public school funding.

"We get feedback from our community, heartfelt emails from parents begging us not to cut a program that their child is involved in, telling us all the wonderful things about that particular program. It's very difficult because you don't want to disappoint anyone in your community," Alpe said.

Spring Branch ISD still only receives $6,160 in funding per student, and trustees said that number needs to increase by at least $1,000 to make up the shortfall.

Trustees said they are frustrated with the "lack of action taken by state legislators," as Texas sits on a budget surplus of $33 billion. No additional funding for public schools was passed in the 88th Legislative Session or any of the three subsequent special sessions.

RELATED: 'Enough is enough': Spring Branch ISD protests recapture payment to state, urges for more funding

During Monday's workshop meeting, people jammed into the room, with the crowd spilling out into the hallway and sidewalk. About 120 people signed up for public comment, but only about 10 of them got a chance to speak.

Not even an hour into the meeting, the Houston Fire Marshal's Office shut the meeting down after officials were unsuccessful in getting community members to clear the doorway and wait outside until their name was called.

Monica Guevara was one of the parents who was able to speak in favor of keeping charter school programs, which are primarily in Spring Branch ISD's economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. She expressed disappointment that other parents didn't have the opportunity to express how they felt.

"My immediate emotion was fear that they weren't going to let us speak. They weren't going to hear our side of the story, and they were just going to carry on and do what they needed to do," Guevara said. "I'm hoping they take the turnout last night as a cautionary warning that parents need to be spoken with."

Carla Cooper-Molano showed up with her son, who pleaded with trustees to save programs designed for gifted and talented students. She said the district should have better planned for the large turnout, which she believes was expected.

She would like to see Spring Branch ISD provide another opportunity for potentially affected families to be part of the conversation.

"It calls for a discussion. It calls for a workshop again and definitely in a bigger venue. We actually would love for that venue to be Northbrook High School to include the community that is going to be mostly affected," Cooper-Molano said. "We want to be part of the solution. We want to understand the rationale and how they're making these decisions."

No action was scheduled to be taken by trustees Monday night. As of Tuesday, the district spokesperson said there was no plan to schedule a make-up meeting. The next regularly scheduled board meeting will be Nov. 27, which will have a public comment session.

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