EPISD board of managers approve modernization plan

roadmap for the future — the board of managers now fully supporting what has been coined “th modernization plan.” but th managers won’t be the ones implementing it. ABC-7’s ashlie rodriguez is live to explain more. the plans are in place for the next seven years — but whether or not these plans actually take shape is up to elected trustees. today i spoke with two — who admit changes will have to be made before any school is closed or consolidated. pkg too many schools, too few students. the goal is to go from 83 to 69. and upgrade those 69, which on average are more than 45 years old. elementary schools will be slashed from 57 to 43, middle schools from 15 to 9. pre-k through 8ths will grow from 1 to 7. 14 elementary schools would be consolidated, some combined with six nearby middles to become pre-k-8th, others to join schools set for reconstruction. bassett middle will be the only school to close new proposed programs include new tech highs at franklin, irvin and bowie and an early childhood center vilas. the cost: about $657 million paid through multiple bond elections. i think there’s a lot a tweaking that needs to happen before we implement it. elected trustee susie byrd will be just one of seven who would eventually implement this plan superintendent juan cabrera created and the board of managers approved. both she and elected trustee bob geske support it, but not without reservation. We’re going to go slowly, we’re going to ask our community what they want. We’re going to say here’s our plan, here’s how we’re going to do it, here’s how much it’s going to cost, this is why we’re doing it, here are the benefits to the children and ask do you want it and see what they say. although geske is now a manager on the board, he’s keeping an open mind, willing to wait for the other six trustees who take office after the may 9th election, before making any decisions. a decision byrd is not ready to make: creating second medical magnet program at franklin, one of the district’s proposal. her fear is silva-magnet could lose out. They have provided a good roadmap. That doesn’t mean the board of trustees might not deviate a little bit after getting feedback from the public, but i do think they’ve really left the district in a good place. before the managers leave office, they intend on adopting a budget — leaving the elected trustees to not only implement the modernization plan– but adopt a tax rate too. this is abc-7 at 10, where