1
00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,000
My name is John Pyle, father of a first grader

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,080
at Highland Village Elementary, and a four
year old who

3
00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,400
I hope still has the opportunity to be a
Viking.

4
00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:08,560
I wanted to take this last opportunity to
address the

5
00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:10,480
board and plead with you to do the right thing

6
00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:12,080
and keep these schools open.

7
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,560
It has become increasingly clear that some
sort of new

8
00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,640
pressure has been put on this board to make
these

9
00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:17,760
drastic decisions.

10
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,560
We have asked time and time again why now, why

11
00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:21,440
so soon?

12
00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,800
Why, when we are within the 1.5% target
deficit that

13
00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:26,640
you are shooting for for the twenty four
twenty five

14
00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,080
school year, our deficit is 0.8%, or as Buddy
has

15
00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,800
now infamously put it, smaller than a gnat's
eyelash.

16
00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,680
Make no mistake about it, these moves are
drastic.

17
00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:37,920
Hundreds of parents have emailed you or spoken
to you

18
00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,880
about the commuting issues moving us to
heritage will create.

19
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,680
Families who chose Highland Village because it
was a neighborhood

20
00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:45,600
school that they could walk to or they could
drop

21
00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:47,520
off and quickly be back on the highway.

22
00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,320
Many like myself have come to you incredibly
vulnerable and

23
00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,520
discussed our children, some with learning
disabilities, some with social

24
00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,240
or behavioral issues, all of whom have had
their lives

25
00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:01,680
immeasurably improved by Highland Village and
their wonderful teachers.

26
00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,920
We have expressed to you our concerns about
how this

27
00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:06,320
change will affect or even set back our
children.

28
00:01:06,320 --> 00:01:09,120
By closing HVE in these other schools, you are
drastically

29
00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,920
altering the lives of your constituents in a
negative way.

30
00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:13,680
You have been so quick to bring up five to

31
00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:14,080
seven years.

32
00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:15,680
We'll be bankrupt in five to seven years if we

33
00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:16,320
do nothing.

34
00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:18,640
The proposed closure does nothing to fix the
problem.

35
00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:20,000
We will still be in a deficit.

36
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:21,040
So what is it by us?

37
00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,680
One or two more years, then we'll still be
bankrupt?

38
00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:26,160
I urge you to buck whatever pressure has
driven you

39
00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:26,720
to this point.

40
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,280
I urge you to focus on providing the best
education

41
00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:31,680
for our kids instead of focusing on the bottom
line.

42
00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:35,440
Highland Village Elementary is an astounding
school by every metric.

43
00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,160
It should be a representation you're using to
showcase to

44
00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:41,040
the state why we need increased funding and
why public

45
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,680
schools can work when we treat it like our
duty

46
00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:46,080
as a society and not like a business of
profits

47
00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:48,560
and loss or a piece of a political ecosystem.

48
00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:50,720
I urge you to address the real problem that is

49
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,280
Greg Abbott and his cronies in Austin who've
been doing

50
00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,080
everything they can to cripple the public
education system of

51
00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,200
Texas so they can save their CEO friends
$10,000 a

52
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:00,000
year on tuition.

53
00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,680
Keep our schools open, spend the time you have
left

54
00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,480
getting every elementary school in LISD to
perform to the

55
00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,040
same standards that Highland Village
consistently has.

56
00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,400
Demand that Austin address the public
education system, not just

57
00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:13,320
here in Louisville, but across the state.

58
00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,640
Be the district that stands up for what is
right,

59
00:02:15,640 --> 00:02:17,320
that stands up for your constituents.

60
00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:19,800
If nothing changes in Austin, the district
will go bankrupt

61
00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:20,440
either way.

62
00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:22,120
So operate at a loss.

63
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:23,320
Do it the right way.

64
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:25,960
Listen to your teachers, listen to your
families, and when

65
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:28,200
the time comes, you can proudly showcase what
it looks

66
00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,200
like when a district truly cares about
educating their children.