Uvalde schools may go virtual this fall as parents threaten to pull kids from the district in emotional forum

• The Uvalde School District is considering offering students a virtual option next fall.
• The Superintendent made the announcement during a tense school board meeting on Monday night.

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District may offer a virtual option next fall for students who are afraid to return to class after a gunman killed 19 kids and two teachers in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School nearly two months ago.

The district's superintendent Hal Harrell announced the board's plans while answering questions during a heated public forum on Monday evening.

"We are looking into it," Harrell said of a virtual schooling option. "There are some structures that have to be in place, but yes, it's one of the things we're considering."

The Uvalde school board kicked off their Monday meeting with a separate forum in which community members could speak publicly and without a time limit. Dozens of people took the podium to share their grievances, anger, and heartache.

The gathering quickly grew tense as community members accused the school board of failing to take accountability for its role in the May 24 tragedy. Several people demanded that the school board fire Pete Arredondo, the former Uvalde CISD police chief who is currently on administrative leave following law enforcement's failure to stop the massacre for more than an hour.

"If he's not fired by noon tomorrow, I want your resignation and every single one of you board members, because you do not give a damn about our children or us," one man said at the start of the meeting.

The school board said it would make a decision about Arredondo's employment during a closed meeting, and said a recently-released Texas House report investigating the shooting would help them come to a final decision.

Several parents during the meeting threatened to pull their kids out of Uvalde schools if the board failed to provide satisfactory updates on improved security measures dealing with campus doors and fencing around school buildings.

"Your schools suck and they're not secure and we're not sending our kids back," one impassioned mother said. "Get your architects and build us a new school."

Harrell said the board is also considering pushing back the start of the school year until after Labor Day as the district works to implement improved safety measures across its campuses. The superintendent said he had drafted a proposal for the board to vote on later Monday night in regards to delaying students' return to class.

The measure would extend the back-end of the school year by about four days and would shorten several breaks throughout the year in order to make up the difference in school days, Harrell said.