SAN ANTONIO – As families walked into the Edgewood Independent School District meeting Tuesday night, their chants calling for justice echoed empty halls.
“Whose schools are these? Our school!” they called.
Families said they have been fighting problems over transparency, bullying and special education support for years.
However, conversations at Edgewood ISD have heightened over the last month. Now, the superintendent said change is coming.
“I understand what happened 30 days ago. There’s not a night that I don’t reflect on it,” Edgewood ISD superintendent Eduardo Hernandez said.
It’s been nearly a month since Edgewood ISD police arrested Maribel Gardea, who exceeded her allotted time during public comment. She’s the executive director of MindShiftEd, an education advocacy group.
KSAT first spoke to her the day after she was released from jail. The three charges she once faced are no longer being pursued by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, but she is still prohibited from going on Edgewood ISD property.
That’s why she organized a rally Tuesday night at the public park across the street from the board meeting.
“This is where I can be,” Gardea said. “The thing is, the voices of these families, they’re gonna still keep sounding even if I’m not around.”
Approximately a dozen people spoke during public comment at the board meeting, including Dora Maldonado.
“My concerns are making sure that the kids are getting the proper education,” Maldonado told KSAT before going into the meeting.
Hernandez said he’s working to address those concerns directly with parents. He said he held a meeting last week with four people who wrote a petition.
“I did mostly listening, and that was a good thing,” Hernandez said. “We have an opportunity to co-create new solutions to problems that affect not just Edgewood ISD, but districts across the state of Texas right now.”
During the meeting on Tuesday, he said he would soon be creating a parent advisory committee. He also said he would soon have more meeting hours available to talk directly with parents.
To read more about the parent petition, click here.
Read also: