College Station ISD addresses layoff rumors in email to parents

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - College Station ISD sent an email to parents Monday night addressing staffing changes within the district after rumors of layoffs spread across social media.

The district said in the email that intervention positions are being ‘restructured’ to better serve students and address overarching budget concerns.

However, it’s left parents with more questions than answers.

“The first thing is, what else is next? If we’re facing budget concerns, what else is next?” Erin Williams, a College Station ISD parent, said.

Williams has one child in special education and another who utilizes reading intervention programs. She said she’s thankful for the educators she and her children have worked with, and that her student in the reading intervention program has improved dramatically.

“He has excelled so rapidly and he’s exceeding his grade levels now because of these programs,” she added.

Part of the rumors included layoffs in special education, but the district clarified that special education programs will not be impacted.

Additionally, there are 10 gifted and talented specialists under contract for the upcoming 2024-2025 school year. Originally, there were 13, but three have retired. A spokesperson from the district said those positions will not be filled.

Although Williams is relieved special education won’t be affected, she’s worried this could be the start of larger cuts.

“I’ve been in that kind of purgatory where your child is not necessarily in the special needs category, but they’re approaching that and if these services get drawn back on those children, it could be disastrous,” she said.

For retired College Station ISD teacher Judy LeUnes, the response to the rumors was not handled well. Even she was left confused.

“I think the way they rolled it out caused more problems, and I’m hoping everybody is learning from this,” she said.

On May 21, the district is holding a workshop meeting to lay out the plan to restructure. LeUnes is encouraging parents to attend with an open mind.

“I would get them to get their buddies and their friends and all that and just to trust the system. Not blindly, at least go listen to it,” she said.

A spokesperson from College Station ISD declined KBTX’s request for an interview, and said more information will be shared online in the coming weeks.

The superintendent was scheduled to speak with KBTX live in studio April 24, but cancelled that interview.

Read the district’s email to parents below.

Dear CSISD families and staff,

We are writing to you today to provide information related to staffing changes for the 2024-25 school year:

The CSISD curriculum and instruction department will restructure some positions for the 2024-25 school year to provide targeted support for all students. All current interventionists will have the opportunity to serve and support students in a different role within the district and GT enrichment specialists will continue to provide GT services to K-6 students. We currently have 13 GT enrichment specialists and 10 are under contract for the 2024-25 school year (three retired).

K-6 students will continue to receive GT services through a pullout model for the 2024-25 school year. There will be no changes to SPED services and students will continue to receive services as outlined by their ARD approved IEP.

ALL students (grades K-8) will receive intervention and/or enrichment services based on individualized data, which is a change from prior years.

While these changes to our staffing model will provide some cost-savings in the midst of a challenging budget situation, the decision to reallocate these staff members and provide widespread support was made to provide a more effective and data-driven model to best serve students. We are confident that our highly skilled and dedicated staff will continue to provide the resources necessary to give all students the opportunity to achieve success at their highest level.

Our goals are to improve the academic performance of all students and provide additional support for our teachers. Everything that we do will be aligned to achieve these goals each school year.

We look forward to sharing additional information on the district website (https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fcsisd.org&c=E,1,dDLKBMWjfwUhpEn0GSE02ZI2d--ioxpibkIKE7xr0oA3DuhpTijOu1ivuViRfSoGnHhO73Uyc1_EX2rSLVThYHvXeg3F3uPgh5X7Hiy-8cvELA,,&typo=1) in the coming weeks.

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