Beall Parents Committee gathers signatures opposing possible school closure

Parent with children enrolled at Beall Elementary School gathered signatures Friday in an effort to keep the school open.

Thursday, the El Paso Independent School District announced it will consider school closures in order to eliminate a nearly $7 million budget shortfall. The district said a majority of its schools are at 50-to-70 percent capacity and the district could save $1 million dollars for every school it closes.

Parents at Beall Elementary are being proactive since the school has been targeted for closure before. Many question what the district will gain by closing schools in low-income communities.

Friday, the Beall Parents Committee gathered outside the school to gather signatures and to organize in the event the district wants to shut the school down.

A parent ABC-7 spoke with said she doesn’t understand how the district facing a $7 million budget shortfall can pay for a new bus hub already under construction and new baseball fields at nearby high schools.

“Recently, they just opened up an all-girls academy. They gave them new laptops. They hired all these new teachers. They built them this new school. How are they evaluating where to invest that money when they are saying that they don’t have any resources and that they are losing kids. That’s a problem that we see,” said Hilda Villegas with the Beall Parents Committee.