Shared with Four Points News, this open letter to Leander ISD leadership is regarding the proposed closure of a school in Steiner Ranch.

Dear LISD Board Members and Administration Leadership,

First, I would like to extend my gratitude and appreciation to each one of you for having taken up public service as your calling in support of our communities and our children. It is more than what I can say for myself and I’m thankful. But your actions over the past few years around potential school closures in Steiner Ranch would lead one to question your competence, or worse, your intentions. We expect responsible leadership and accountability at the highest levels but what we have seen instead is behavior antithetical to the values the district purports to inculcate in our students. 

Leander ISD describes its mission as cultivating each student by 

*knowing and appreciating them,

• *creating a safe and supportive environment to nurture their personal growth, and 
• *partnering with each family.

You have failed the children of Steiner Ranch on each of these dimensions with the unnecessary uncertainty, confusion and a tone-deaf insistence on moving forward with school closures. 

The goal of “facility optimization” has been cited repeatedly as the reason why the district needs to proceed with school closures. But the premise itself is dubious – facility optimization cannot be an end goal in itself in isolation. Facility optimization to what end? The only answer to this question is budget constraints. 

When any organization faces budget constraints, the first step is to assess all expenses across the board. A rational approach would be to look at potential areas for cuts based on detailed and comprehensive audits, a clear understanding of ROI, benchmarking with peers and an overall data-driven approach. As far as we know, no such analyses have been shared with our communities. There is not even a cost-benefit analysis of potential school closures, only some rough estimates of potential $ savings with no thought given to negative ramifications. When faced with budget constraints, it is incomprehensible to me that the leadership chose to look at closing thriving schools and cutting from its core mission of educating students – the primary reason for its very existence. 

1. 1) At the same time, the district is spending tens of millions of dollars constructing brand new elementary schools in other neighborhoods with comparable demographics and questionable enrollment trends in the future. And there are reports that we are spending a lot more in comparison to what neighboring districts spend for new schools. 
2. 2) Ignoring the seemingly exorbitant costs of new school facilities, has the district looked at efficiencies elsewhere? I requested details of operational costs across the district and for 2025, these were the revised expenses for non-instructional purposes – $0.93M for the superintendent’s office, $0.53M for the school board, $2.8M for the tax office, $0.57M for admin services and strategic planning, $4.7M for financial services, $3.3M for HR, $0.8M for business services, $0.45M for general counsel, $1.3M for community relations, $15.6M for plant services, $16.7M for transportation, $9.4M for energy management, $4.9M for satay & security, $11.3M for technology services, $13.1M for custodial services, $0.95M for communications, $1.7M for warehouse and copy center, … and the list goes on. 

We need a simple question answered first *before* any talk of school closures. What other options were considered for achieving cost savings? If we are considering shutting down schools, I’d call on the administration leadership to lead by example by agreeing to a voluntary pay cut reflective of the gravity of the situation. Where is the accountability?

Secondly, let us consider the dubious goal of facility optimization at face value. 

1. 1) We have been told that “underutilized” campuses would be candidates for closures and all schools in Steiner Ranch were supposedly “underutilized.” Yet, there is no clear details on how the district measures underutilization. If the square footage of the buildings housing our schools is the sole metric, there would be hundreds of schools across the state of Texas that would be underutilized. It is ludicrous to think high performing schools, serving several hundreds of students each, repeatedly scoring the top grades from TEA year over year, backed by excellent community and parent involvement are considered “unsustainable.”
2. 2) Another metric that was presented in a board meeting back in May was the cost-per-student expenditure. When looked at closely, the administration’s own data does NOT show a clear correlation between cost-per-student and enrollment numbers. Yet, the administration has created a perception that “under utilized” schools have higher cost-per-student thus justifying their closures. Not only is this misleading, it hides the true drivers of per-capita costs and makes it harder for getting costs under control in the future. 
3. 3) The administration has also presented potential “key needs.” One example is an additional 20,000 sq.ft. of offices and meeting rooms for “administrative purposes.” In what topsy-turvy world would it be justifiable to have entire schools shut down, students displaced, teachers retrenched along with all other negative ramifications so administrative employees can have additional meeting space? 

We need clear answers and supporting analyses on how some of these decisions were made. So far, it seems like the administration put the cart before the horse, decided that closing down school campuses was inevitable, and then went looking for ways in which the newly freed up space could be used. 

Lastly, when school closures were first proposed a few years ago, our communities rallied together and tried to work with you in good faith – only to find out this year that all that effort was for naught. For a school district that claims to be a “district of innovation” – the leadership sure seems to have an utter lack of imagination. Not having ideas is not the issue, but not listening to new ideas from the community and not even trying to solve the challenge at hand is unacceptable. I watched the recording of one of the board meetings and I remember watching Ms Bode asking to explore and discuss new innovative ideas that could prevent the closures of neighborhood schools. I was dismayed to see only eye-rolls from other board members and one member even questioning how we could even dare to think Leander ISD could solve this challenge when none of the other school districts apparently hadn’t (in her opinion). I watched in disbelief as board members Smith and Romans refused to even entertain a discussion on piloting the small schools model, shutting down the entire discussion saying they would not agree to any new ideas being tried out unless it is mandated district wide – all in the name of equity. 

All of this points to bad-faith engagement on the part of district leadership. I urge you to review the “10 Ethical Principles” that are part of Leander ISD’s “guiding documents” – 

• *Honesty: telling the truth
• *Integrity: doing the right thing
• *Promise-keeping: doing what you say you are going to do
• *Loyalty: supporting someone or something
• *Concern for others: caring for and helping others
• *Law-abidance/Civic Duty: obeying rules and laws/making the world a better place 
• *Respect for Others: being polite and kind to everyone and everything
• *Fairness: treating everyone equally
• *Pursuit of Excellence: doing everything the best you can; looking for ways to improve
• *Accountability: taking responsibility for your actions, and taking pride in what you do right 

Please look in the mirror and reflect on whether you have followed these principles in your roles as leaders of our school district. If we expect our children to embody these values, it is only fair that we expect each one of you to lead by example. 

Closing thriving, top performing, dearly loved schools is not demonstrating leadership or making “tough choices” – it is a complete abdication of responsibility and a willful betrayal of the trust our community has placed in each of you.

It is especially sad to have schools that are prime examples of what public education can achieve being shutdown in the current climate where public education is already under assault.

I respectfully request you to step up, or step out of the way so others can do what you have been unable or unwilling to do – putting the needs of our children first. 

Best Regards,

Madhu S.

Steiner Ranch

This guest editorial represents the personal views of the author and is published for informational and discussion purposes only. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect the official policy or standpoint of Four Points News. The newspaper assumes no responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of or reliance on the views expressed.