Information regarding the proposed closure of Becker Elementary School updated 4-5-06
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Becker Elementary has been part of the fabric of Bouldin Creek for 70 years. This neighborhood school provides the kind of close-knit learning environment so crucial to students' social development and academic success. Closing a school most parents and students walk or bike to does not support the city goals of creating vibrant, non-auto-dependent central neighborhoods, and closing Becker without careful consideration of the impact on the neighborhood and the city as a whole is short-sighted.

Since the plan was announced on January 13, a small group of Becker and neighborhood members have been working to encourage trustees to keep Becker open to allow time for the community and the district to explore alternatives for increasing enrollment. Other citywide groups -Liveable City, Austin Neighborhoods Council, Save Our Springs, and several of our City Council members-have also voiced concern about the proposal. The AISD plan changed this week (mid-March) from "repurposing" Becker as a pre-elementary school in the Fall 2006 to closing the school altogether. The trustees will vote on this plan on March 27, so please see the Becker flyer below to learn more about how you can help.

3/31 letter below from AISD telling parents Becker will stay open next year (but putting them "on notice")

in spanish
in english

What you can do to help

If you're a Bouldin Creek resident, take the survey.
Please print out a flyer in Spanish or English and distribute to your neighbors.

A diverse group has expressed concerns about the proposal to AISD trustees and district administrators.
Below are some examples.

Citywide responses to the (original) proposal

Community responses to the (original) proposal

A collaborative group of representatives from the Becker Campus Advisory Council, the PTA, the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association, and the general neighborhood have presented AISD trustees and administration with a pro-active draft plan for increasing enrollment at AISD.

Future residential development in area

AISD has argued that demographic projections for Bouldin Creek show that the numbers of children in this neighborhood will continue to decline. The BCNA, on behalf of the collaborative community group responding to this proposal, prepared a list of major residential projects that are either in construction or in the planning stages so that this development could be factored into projections. See the list; the number of new residential units being added in the Dawson, Travis Heights, and Becker Elementary attendance districts (the three schools affected by this proposal) will total more than an estimated 1,100 units. AISD staff prepared a memo claiming not to have found these projects in their database; the BCNA provided documentation for nearly every project and prepared a subsequent memo.

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