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This Week's West Texas Headlines: Walkouts, Boundary lines and Charter School Proposals

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Like the region itself, the news of West Texas is sweeping in its scope. So to help us break it all down, we have news editors from across the region joining us. In this roundtable, we hear from Laura Dennis with the Odessa American and Robert Halpern at the Big Bend Sentinel-Marfa.

National Walkout in West Texas

Across the state and country, students participated in the National Walkout, a protest against gun violence in schools.

But, in Odessa, Laura Dennis says in there weren't any protests, mainly because students were taking required tests.

In far West Texas, students at Alpine High School did walk out. In the days leading up to the protest, administrators told Alpine students and teachers that anyone who walked out of school without being signed out by a parent would be placed for 3 days in a DAEP, or Disciplinary Alternative Education Program.

But by Monday, school administrators instead issued one day of in-school-suspension to student protestors.

New Boundaries in Ector ISD Proposed

Ector Independent School District will set new boundaries, which will change what students go to which schools"

"Some of our schools are seriously overcrowded," Dennis says. "So what they're going to do is take traditional elementary schools and change them up."

Some of these schools will will become kindergarten, first grade, and second grade centers. That means some kids who have possibly gone to the  same school will have to go to a different one next year.

The changes also would switch up boundary lines for middle school and high school as well.

$30 Million Bond Would Mean New School for Alpine Students

Next week, voters in Alpine will decide on a $30 million bond.

Robert Halpern with the Big Bend Sentinel says the proposal calls for the construction of a new school.

This is the second time in several years that a bond proposal has been put before Alpine voters.

 

Carlos Morales is Marfa Public Radio's News Director.