Austin Independent School District Superintendent Paul Cruz said he hopes the Board of Trustees will approve a plan Monday night to begin the process of evaluating which schools will be closed or consolidated in the face of declining enrollment and a big budget gap. But some board members fear it’s all happening way too quickly and without adequate public input.

KUT talked with the district in depth about how it is going to proceed.

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"Not easily," said AISD Chief Officer for School Leadership Michelle Cavazos.

"There's a lot of emotion that's tied to it," she said. “When we look at schools, for some families, their family has been going to the school for years. It's the cornerstone of the community. So it's not a process or decision that's taken lightly."

KUT talked with Cavazos recently about how the district concluded it had to close and consolidate schools and how it will decide which ones to target: