Austin Independent School District Battles On for Charter IDEA In-District against the Will of Parents and the Community « Parents Across America

Austin Independent School District Battles On for Charter IDEA In-District against the Will of Parents and the Community « Parents Across America:

Austin Independent School District Battles On for Charter IDEA In-District against the Will of Parents and the Community

by Lorie Barzano

By Lorie Barzano
Co-Chair of CoalitionSAUS (Strengthen Austin Urban Schools)
A parent led group representing inner-city public schools working to ensure accessible, quality Public Education for all children and healthy, thriving Public Schools in Austin’s urban core

In a special meeting on December 19, 2011, over the loud, repeated protests of thousands of parents and community members and under heavy police presence, the Austin ISD Board of Trustees approved a contract with IDEA Charter School by a 6 to 3 vote. The contract empowers IDEA, a south Texas, nonprofit charter school corporation, to co-locate on the Allan Elementary campus first, and later at Eastside Memorial High School, establishing the first in-district charter(s) in Austin.

Amid a litany of complaints and continued objections, AISD took the unprecedented step of signing the contract with IDEA before ever (and still not) publicly posting a line-item budget