Overview
- The school board approved closing McMasters and consolidating its students at nearby Parks Elementary, and it also approved a restructuring plan for Tegeler Community School.
- Pasadena ISD says the district has lost more than 2,000 students in recent years and faces budget stress that includes a projected $48.4 million deficit.
- A district facilities assessment found McMasters needs roughly $16 million in infrastructure upgrades with more than $5 million in immediate repairs, prompting leaders to move students to the newer Parks campus less than a mile away.
- District officials said current McMasters staff will keep their jobs and that future staffing adjustments will be handled through attrition rather than layoffs, with student moves to be completed before the next school year.
- Parents, teachers and alumni gave hours of emotional testimony opposing the plan and said they felt blindsided, a reaction that could shape community relations and any further consolidation talks as the district retools to the new funding reality.