Allen ISD keeping vacated school trustee seat open until May election

A seat vacated by Allen schools trustee Vatsa Ramanathan last week will remain vacant until the May election. Trustees accepted Ramanathan’s resignation during a special meeting on Monday that included discussions on how to move forward to fill the Place 7 seat. “The community can vote on who they want for that position,” board president Amy Gnadt said at the meeting. Ramanathan was the sole vote against a proposal that realigned the attendance boundaries, an action that will close George J. Anderson Elementary and Rountree Elementary schools. He resigned on the spot after the decision. Before the vote on how to fill his empty seat, three people spoke in favor of appointing community member Holly Barnard, a parent who has three daughters attending one of the schools that will close.

Barnard was outspoken against the new boundary changes and recently created a GoFundMe account to support teachers working in the two schools that will be shut down. Jason Warschauer told trustees that he represented a group of parents with children who are severely impacted by the boundary adjustments. “As we first opposed this proposal, we were called emotional, and we were asked to bring forth facts and data to back our position. We did exactly that. We tore apart that proposal and found errors and math mistakes … and we handed that to you on a silver platter,” Warschauer said. “You didn’t even look at it, other than to laugh at it and poke fun at it. That’s embarrassing for the board, and it’s insulting to us.” Warschauer noted that Barnard would be a good fit for the role and that appointing her would not only be a gesture of goodwill but would promote healing for the community. On Dec. 4, an email from parent Michelle Boren was sent to trustees also recommending Barnard. “It is no secret that, as a community, we are hurt and profoundly distrust our current school board,” Boren wrote.