Some Webb Middle School parents say they were misled in petition to close campus

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin ISD's Burnet and Webb middle schools received five consecutive "F ratings from the Texas Education Agency. Now, the district faces a potential state takeover.

Some parents say they’re confused about a petition that could help determine their school’s future.

The Webb Middle School PTA held a press conference saying some parents were misled about a petition circulating at both campuses. 

The petition process has sparked concerns about whether families fully understood what they were signing.

Petition to close Webb Middle School

The backstory:

As parents weigh their options, some say they’re struggling to get clear answers.

"There's a lot of confusion in our community. Our feelings are confused because now parents don't trust Austin ISD and the school," said Vanessa Gamez, Webb Middle School PTA president.

There are three potential paths for the schools: The state could replace the school board, close the campus, or parents could petition the state education commissioner to close the schools.

If more than 50% of parents at each campus sign, the commissioner has to accept it, and the district has to submit an improvement plan, which the commissioner still has the final say on.

Advocates for the petition say it gives parents more of a say in the future of their schools.

"It's important that we are able to stand up. And defend our school. We stand together and defend our school. We don't have the state come in and take us over. The state doesn't need to take us, the state needs to come in to help us," said Ken Zarifis, Burnet Middle School parent.

Some parents believe they were misled to sign petition

The other side:

But the Webb PTA says some signatures to close the school came because parents were pressured to sign them without fully understanding the situation.

"These people come into our car, and they say, ‘hey, can you sign this?’ And the partner said, ‘I mean, what does this mean?’ Oh, it's because we want you to sign the petition because it's to save Webb. But the letter doesn't say save Webb, the letter says close Webb," said Gamez.

Parents questioned why English copies of the petition were sent to the school with a large Hispanic population. Webb PTA president Vanessa Gamez says many parents are afraid to speak up or question things because of the current immigration situation.

"Another example was parents coming and people saying, do you want your school to stay with Austin or the state? And the parent said, Oh, of course, with the city. Okay, sign this petition. And the parents just signed the petition," said Gamez.

Parents are now taking a stand by making another petition, claiming several outside groups, including "Austin Council PTA", conducted a pressure campaign at the schools to get signatures.

"We don't know how the process will work. We don't know how many signatures will be redacted. Of course, it will reduce the number of signatures. But that's still an ongoing process," said Valarie Gonzales, Webb Middle School parent.

What they're saying:

The Austin Council PTA sent FOX 7 a statement: 

"Our stance, as voted on by our board, was to support families with factual information, not to take any position with those families on whether or not to sign a petition. Our purpose is to support our communities and family engagement in schools."

Keep Austin Schools Independent was also named in the petition.

Here's KASI's statement: 

"There's been a lot of activity this week around the parent petition at Burnet and Webb, and we want to clarify our involvement. Burnet and Webb families asked the Austin Council of PTAs for help getting information about the parent petition to families. KASI was one of several groups invited to send out a call for help. The organization and deployment of volunteers at both schools was not run by KASI. Our message to volunteers was clear: our role was to share information, and the decision belonged to families."