YUVALDE, Texas — With just over two weeks until the start of the new school year, Tina Quintanilla Taylor drove her 9-year-old daughter, Mehle, past a new school where fourth grade was due to start.
The school, just a mile away from Robb Elementary School, where she attended last year, is now permanently closed after a shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. The new school looked clean and comfortable, but Mehle and her mother were feeling uneasy. The newly installed fence was “thin” and easier to climb, she said.
“I don’t feel safe,” she said to her mother.
Quintanilla-Taylor, like many other parents in Uvalde, who still linger after the trauma of the May 24 shooting has gone into summer mourning, enrolled their daughter in state-approved online classes. decided to Some parents say enrollments for students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade have doubled since last year, including private schools run by the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, which began its new school year on August 15. He said he was considering it.
“They aren’t ready for the new school year,” said Quintanilla-Taylor. “Nobody can go back to school with peace of mind.”
Parents have confronted members of the school board at conferences, demanding answers about the poor police response to the shootings and new security measures to keep students safe at school.
The legislative commission that investigated the attack said critical measures were taken in the school’s preparations for the mass shootings, including unlocked doors inside and outside, contrary to school protocol, and a five-foot exterior fence that the gunman could easily climb over. I found it to be flawed. .
The commission also found “systematic failure and very poor decision-making” by police officers who waited over an hour to bring down the shooter. Pete Arredondo, the incident commander for a flawed response, failed to follow standard law enforcement training that could have ended the attack more quickly and saved lives.
The school board has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday and plans to fire Chief Arredondo, who has been on unpaid leave since late July. Parents have expressed frustration at the length of the process, with many saying they were given little assurance that the district was prepared to prevent a similar tragedy.
School district officials said the start of the school year has been postponed until Sept. 6, later than neighboring school districts, to allow students to safely attend classes in person. The district said it is fortifying its campus with a new 8-foot fence, security cameras, replacement door locks, and additional police officers. Gov. Greg Abbott said more than 30 state troopers were deployed to provide additional security.
With plans to eventually demolish Robb Elementary School, the district is setting up mobile classrooms at other schools to accommodate students, but online classes are available for those who don’t feel ready to return in person. increase.
“We are making progress,” superintendent Hal Harrell told parents in a video message outlining the new safety measures. It is a component that is installed in the
However, many parents say the process of installing new security equipment is slow and they don’t expect everything to be ready on time.
The trauma of those who survived the worst school massacre since the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, a decade ago is still vivid, and many of their families sought additional help from local officials over the summer. I was creating an organization to demand accountability. In early July, hundreds of people marched from the Robb Elementary school campus to the town square to demand the dismissal of police officers who had led a flawed response, and demand stronger gun control and improved school safety measures. rice field.
More than a dozen residents formed Uvalde Strong for Gun Safety, a group advocating for stronger gun laws and safer schools. At a recent conference, one of the group’s leaders, Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician who testified before Congress about the devastating injuries he saw that day, said his parents had the right to keep their children out of school. reminded me of something.
“Don’t send them away. We’ll see what happens. Do you agree? This is how you respond to them.” is what I am saying to
Quintanilla-Taylor, the mother of a 9-year-old who will be taking an online course this week, joined a chorus of families wanting to know why it took so long to fire Mayor Arredondo.
Superintendent Dr. Harrell recommended the dismissal in July, but the school board has repeatedly delayed taking action, in part due to the principal’s request for a delay.
“His inaction resulted in loss of life,” said Ms. Quintanilla Taylor. “They should have fired him long ago. He swore. He broke that oath.”
That sentiment is shared with many others in town, including Arnulfo Reyes, a teacher at Rob Elementary School. Arnulfo Reyes feels lucky to be alive after being shot twice by a gunman while a policeman stood idle in a nearby hallway and taunted him for over an hour.
In this small town of 15,000 people to whom many are related, it was no unusual twist of fate for Chief Arredondo to become Mr. Reyes’ cousin. But that hasn’t changed Reyes’ view of what should happen. “I think he needs to go first. Fire him and the rest will follow like dominoes. We need accountability,” Reyes said.
School district officials declined to say how many students plan to return to in-person classes at other campuses, and how many have chosen to take classes online.
Jimmy Olivares, 55, was in Room 112 when his 10-year-old granddaughter, Kendall, entered the shooter. Kendall was hit twice by him in his left shoulder and back. One of her teachers, Irma Garcia, landed on top of her, protecting her from her supposedly further bullets, Olivares said.
Garcia and the classroom’s second teacher died, but Kendall’s cousin and classmate pulled Kendall to safety.
She underwent five surgeries in the first 10 days at a San Antonio hospital. She survived, but her grandfather said she was full of anxiety. During a recent thunderstorm, Kendall was frightened by rain and thunder. He took her to her corner store to buy her lottery tickets to calm her down.
He said he wasn’t sure if she would skip school altogether or take online classes. she is not at ease She fears it will happen again. ”
Cynthia Herrera is one of several parents who said they are closely monitoring progress in improving safety in their district. Her 10-year-old son-in-law, Jose, whom she raised from the age of 3, died in the shooting, and her daughter Andrea, 10, is left traumatized, she said. .
The bullet entered Andrea’s classroom through the wall. The girl remembered seeing her teacher shot just before Andrea climbed to safety through the window.
Herrera said there were safety issues at the school that became apparent even before the shooting. Jose’s teacher, Mr. Reyes, reported that two months before his attack, the key lock on the classroom door was faulty, but was never repaired.
Teachers and other personnel sometimes used rudimentary tools such as stones, wedges, and magnets to prevent doors from fully closing and automatically locking, according to state legislative reports. However, the school police discouraged these practices and pointed out that they were not helpful.
“We can only hope that they learn their lessons and keep our children safe,” Ms Herrera said of the school district.
One day last week, Andrea was trying to decide whether to go back to school without her brother.
Carrying a maroon rucksack, she paraded around her grandmother’s humble home, talking about reuniting with her friends. Her fifth grade classes are scheduled at Flores Middle School, which is less than two miles from her alma mater, but there’s no telling where her friends will land.
Her mother told her that the decision to return was up to her, and reassured her that she could always opt for online classes if she felt unsafe on campus.
“What do you think, Buela?” Andrea asked his grandmother, Beatriz Herrera. Elder Herrera replied that she should trust her instincts.
That solved it. “I want to go back to school,” said Andrea.
“Okay,” mother replied. “We will return.”