MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland ISD school board meeting on Monday night had a packed house.
In addition to the superintendent-related items on the agenda, the school board also heard from parents about the potential expansion of IDEA Travis to cover grades 9-12 and the proposed closure of Ben Milam International Academy.
Milam was the first Midland ISD campus to be selected as a dual language academy back in Feb. 2019.
Pre-K and Kindergarten of all backgrounds are being taught in both English and Spanish.
During Monday's meeting, over 40 people attended and most of them spoke out in favor of keeping the school open.
School board president Bryan Murray said while he didn't expect this kind of reaction, he understood where it came from.
"There was a lot of emotion but that's because people were speaking from their heart. So, I think that was great. Our intent is always to do what is best for our kids. We didn't come in here tonight with a closed mindset that Milam, we were doing away with. But we needed to have the discussion," Murray said.
He also said he's grateful for those who showed up to share their hearts and their time on the subject.
Ultimately, the board did not issue a termination notice to Milam Elementary or REACH Network. Murray said the proposal needed to be on the agenda so they could have the discussion.
At this time there is no word on if or when the discussion could be brought up again.