Chapter 13 — Widén Elementary community meeting

**Date in the room:** Tuesday, October 28, 2025, evening. Comment card “open until tonight” (`00:01:40`). Revised draft “this Friday” (`00:04:19`). **Source:** `meetings/clean/20251030-Widén-Elementary-School-Community-Meeting--October-28-2025.txt` **Recording:** Widén / Wedane / Woodane / Carl T. Wedane Wildcats.

This is a campus meeting, not a board meeting. **No trustee is named as present. No trustee speaks.** (Two “trustee” hits are generic: TEA replacing trustees; “talk to our trustees.”)

**RESULT:** There is no vote tonight. Appointed principals “once we have a vote in November” (`00:19:07`). TAP drafts are being written now; they go in after the board acts.

Who is in the room

**Campus / community**

**District staff who speak**

**Board:** none on the record.

Opening (`00:00:00`–`00:22:15`)

Ally: panel, proposal, frequent comment-card questions, last 45 minutes Q&A. They have read every comment; Friday draft will show adjustments, “may not be every adjustment you were hoping for” (`00:04:51`). Final draft to the board November 20.

Segura (`00:05:17`): sorry this is happening. Black and brown students not resourced for decades. Strong neighborhood schools not everywhere. Pressure from the state “not fully funding public education,” federal immigration, “everchanging accountability.” 2022 Widén was academically successful; next year, “same kids, same teachers,” unacceptable — “that just shows you how much that test changed in one year” (`00:10:54`). Sister district same size, takeover last week. Dual language: other Central Texas districts leaving; AISD leaning in.

**Widén:** empty seats in the area (20,000+ districtwide) **and** a required TAP. Students to **Rodriguez (~70%)** and **Houston (~30%)** by geography. **Rodriguez inherits the TAP** (higher rated, majority rule). Houston is being modernized, 2UA not 3UA, he believes they will break their chain (`00:13:27`–`00:15:10`). Transfers into Widén: superintendent-level approval to follow either cohort (`00:15:27`).

Steinport: existing Widén map; feathering into Rodriguez vs. Houston; knock-on at Perez.

Ally, TAP mechanics (`00:17:57`): TEA wants majority into a higher-rated school — that is why Rodriguez, not Houston. Combined school implements the TAP. Principals appointed December after the vote. Staffing guidebook: familiar faces in proportion to students; career fairs for the rest; freeze outside hiring. TAP campuses get “significant investment” (counselors, interventionists, coaches) from dollars the consolidation frees (`00:21:14`).

TEA rules, 2023 scores, class size (`00:22:15`–`00:35:00`)

Multiple commenters: why reassign to another TAP school?

Segura: two UAs trigger TAP; 2023/24/25 ratings in five months because of lawsuits. Six TEA strategies; at 3UA some (restart as new school with a planning year) will not be accepted. Year five without breaking the chain → board of managers. Agency says “you have six but you really should only be looking at three.” Simplest TEA story: move kids to an A school. Majority to Houston “would not be accepted.” Restart examples: Dobie, Burnet, Webb; 1882 at Méndez; they prefer AISD staff, AISD way (`00:22:33`–`00:26:51`).

**Why weren’t we proactive if you knew 3F regardless of the lawsuit?** (`00:27:04`) Applause. Segura: they were not in the lawsuit; 2022–23 vacancies, fill rate low 80s now 97%; instructional coaches; interventionists; TRE for compensation; board scorecard summer 2024. They were not “hoping.” Staff 10 years: three EDs, Medina maybe two or three times on campus; “What was done here?” (`00:31:55`).

Pace (`00:33:15`): for Widén specifically — instructional coach, content interventionist, **protected from leveling** even when classes are not full. Then:

> “leveling smaller class sizes impact learning… Part of the reason for the consolidation plan is not just accountability, but when we are under budget… You may need to have quite a few classrooms that are under 18. We cannot do that when we are operating 116 campuses.” (`00:33:54`)

Class size appears as something they *already stretch to protect* at Widén, and as a reason they cannot keep 116 campuses.

Floor: scores, TAP staff, Rodriguez/Houston

**Parent volunteer** (`00:34:55`): agrees consolidation is needed; disagrees with solutions. TEC 39.054(a)(3) — scores by August 15; commissioner should have issued not-rated; then they could close Becker (29% emerging bilingual) and put wall-to-wall at Rodriguez, split Houston/Widén geographically, shorter commutes, keep dual language south of the river instead of Sanchez. Counter-proposal coming this week (`00:37:48`).

Segura later: he cannot skip TAP submission; “I as the leader of this organization have to submit them” (`00:39:25`).

Parents and teachers on TAP principal/staff criteria they “don’t even meet” (`01:07:31`); extra resources rumored to follow Houston not Rodriguez (`01:16:33`). Fear for a son who “can’t go to Houston” (`00:47:28`). SPED teacher-parent (`01:05:37`); Ethridge. Substitute (`01:25:17`).

“Library” in this file is the **public library / rec center** next door (`00:54:52`, `01:23:27`), not a school librarian FTE.

Promises (this night)

What was never said

**Recapture. Inflation. Allotment.** Class size is said (as protection and as a cost of 116 campuses), not as a board fight over ratios.

Board vs. staff

Communications, superintendent, operations, academics (Pace), SPED. No trustee on the mic. The vote they keep pointing at is November 20, not this gym.

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