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Zoned students to Oak Forest Elementary in Houston told they will go somewhere else

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Published  July 30, 2020 10:42pm CDT
Houston
FOX 26 Houston

Some Houston parents told their students will have to go somewhere else

ONLY ON FOX: Parents spoke with FOX 26's Randy Wallace after being told their students will have to go somewhere else.

HOUSTON - "More and more people are moving here because of the schools and the community," said parent Augustina Rascelli. "People pay a lot of taxes to be in this area, somehow this needs to be addressed."

Oak Forest was once a middle-class neighborhood with small homes. But with easy access to downtown, the Galleria area and the Medical Center million dollar plus homes have become commonplace.

Another big draw is Oak Forest Elementary School, an HISD magnet campus. It seems to be busting at the seams.

"I'm pretty stunned actually," said parent Lauretta Bahry. "We moved here for the school."

"Most people at least know where their kids are going to go for online school, we have nothing right now," said pediatrician and parent Melissa Chladek.

Chladek isn't the only parent being told her child is on a waiting list to attend Oak Forest Elementary.

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"I've reached out to the superintendent's office, I've reached out to the board," she said.

But all Chladek says she's gotten in return is silence.

"They should be able to figure out a solution for us," her husband Ryan said.

"I've heard there are 30 kids waiting to get back into school that are zoned and they're not letting anyone unzoned back in the school," said parent Jennifer Trevino.

The parents who have gotten notification from HISD are hearing something no parent wants to hear. 

"They're telling us now that we won't know until the first day of school, which doesn't leave a lot of time for planning or other options," Trevino said.

"It's been really frustrating really disappointing to see how much the system has failed us," said Melissa Chladek.

"There's more and more new houses coming in each subsequent year," her husband Ryan added. "If we don't do anything, it's going to become a bigger and bigger problem."

HISD sent us this statement: "The Oak Forest Elementary attendance zone has recently experienced an increase in school-aged children. In order to comply with state class size requirements, a number of students will participate in the district's HUB transfer process. This procedure applies to all Elementary schools within HISD and helps ensure all students have access to an appropriately sized classroom in the area."