TYLER, Texas — Cumberland Academy in Tyler held one of its first open board meetings since the massive layoffs that occurred last month.
This is because the school is facing a budget shortfall caused by multiple factors and Tuesday, a handful of parents used this meeting as an opportunity to voice their opinions.
“This is the board's chance to squash it,” parent Joseph Chavez said. “This was not the forum for it, but if not now, then when.”
At Tuesday's board meeting, parents voiced their concerns about the lack of transparency regarding next steps.
“There’s never a good time to get a clear answer from the people who make decisions,” Chavez said in front of board members.
Chavez, a parent of two children at the school, said one of them is almost a senior and will decide his future at Cumberland, but his other child is a different story.
“I can already tell you my middle schooler ain't coming back next year,” Chavez said
The board didn't come to a decision during the meeting, but parents still wanted to make their voices heard.
“I did hope that the board knowing that we had concerns would at least give us some decency to give us some answers,” parent Sarah Wallace said.
Wallace has two children who’ve gone through Cumberland Academy, and she’s currently a guardian of another.
“We're concerned right now,” Wallace said.
The board heard the public’s statements and moved on to normal proceedings, never addressing the issue at hand.
CBS19 attempted to reach out to board members and the superintendent of Cumberland Academy before the meeting, but they refused to comment.
All parents can do is wait it out, and hope for some answers in the future.
“They have to meet us in the middle here and understand that these are questions that really do need to be answered." Wallace said. "They can't keep dodging those questions."
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