Key Talking Points for Comment Cards:

• Maplewood is exceptional across the entire state of Texas in academic growth, ranking 4TH AMONG ALL Texas elementary schools. The district promised to consider academics in the second phase of its analysis–it should not shut its school with the most academic growth.

• Keeping Maplewood open as a Neighborhood School makes sense:

1. Now: We are 94% full based on zoned population and are popular for transfers, not the same scenario as 2019 when Maplewood was under-enrolled.

2. In the future: Both the Maplewood and Campbell zones have city-backed plans for development to include family-friendly and mixed-income housing over the next 10 years, so a more temporary solution to the under-enrollment at Campbell would make financial sense and preserve the needed future capacity.

• Safety. Manor Road Crossing: This crossing is extremely dangerous, especially at the times our children would need to cross. Over 95% of Maplewood students live north of Manor Road. Manor Road is an east-west thoroughfare designated by the City of Austin. It is a three-lane road that encourages drivers to go around stopped buses or slower vehicles. A 35 MPH speed limit is not observed; cars regularly travel 40–45 MPH. 38½ Street Comparison: Within 1,000 feet of Maplewood, there are four protected crosswalks bookended by a 4-way stop and a signalized crossing in a school zone. Along Manor Road, by contrast, there are four unprotected crosswalks spanning more than twice that distance.

• The district’s effort to achieve equity through this consolidation misses that closing Maplewood will disrupt roughly the same number of economically disadvantaged kids as are at Campbell, aggravate transportation concerns, and go against the wishes of Campbell parents seeking to preserve that school’s unique culture.

• Removing Maplewood from the closure plan does not disrupt the rest of the district’s plan–in fact, it would make more sense with the feeder pattern the district has proposed, which splits Maplewood and Campbell kids at high school. The district’s proposed plan was supposed to be a “draft” so the district should not hesitate to make changes where they are justified, particularly where financial modeling has not demonstrated a need to close precisely 13 schools.

• Any consolidation plan should preserve the dual language strand. To neglect to do so would risk losing or splintering ¼ - ⅓ of our kids and teachers and would not keep our community whole.
  
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  Thank you Maplewood community!