Vandegrift High School students stage walkout after Leander ISD budget cuts eliminate IB program

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A group of students walked out of Vandegrift High School on Thursday morning holding signs that read things like, "empower students, empower the future," and "our education is our future, not a budget line," while chanting messages they want school district leaders to hear.

Earlier this month, Leander Independent School District Superintendent Bruce Gearing announced budget cuts equating to nearly $17 million as the district faces a higher-than-approved deficit in its budget this school year.

The cuts included eliminating the district's use of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program.

Students at Vandegrift held the walkout to express their frustration with the decision to end the program, saying Leander ISD is prioritizing buying property and building new schools over investing in the students already within the district, and that the district did not speak with anyone who's part of the program before making the decision.

Voters in May of 2023 passed an almost $763 million bond package aimed at upgrades to campus security measures, renovations to school facilities and technology improvements.

KXAN has reached out to Leander ISD to ask for a response to Thursday morning's walkout at Vandegrift. We will update this story if we receive a response.

Gearing said in an early-February press release the reason for the cuts boiled down to a lack of increased school funding from the state since 2019, despite rising operational costs and high inflation rates. The state also cut Leander ISD’s funding for instructional material, limiting resources for textbooks and classroom materials, per the release.

The change led the district to use a “reduced growth” enrollment projection, leading to less revenue than anticipated and a reduction in staffing positions, according to the district.

Gearing said in the release that leaders "solicited feedback for insight and ideas to reduce expenditures and increase revenue," during meetings with district and campus leadership teams.

You can read more about the budget cuts in KXAN's previous coverage.

Many of the students who participated in the walkout were sophomores who were set to begin the IB program next school year. They said around 100 students -- including those from other programs, like football, robotics and theatre -- participated in the demonstration to show support.

The students said the argument the district provided for deciding to cut IB was that Advanced Placement, or AP, classes offer the same opportunities, but students disagree.

"IB allows us to truly push past what we already know and think not only on a local scale but a global level," sophomore Sasha told KXAN Thursday morning.

IB is a prestigious, internationally recognized program. Leander ISD's website said that students in both IB and AP classes are exposed to college-level curriculum and may earn college credits through the classes.

However, the programs differ. "The IB DP and AP are different in that IB is a whole-curricular program that encompasses six different subject areas as well as a theory of knowledge course, an extended essay, and a creativity, activity, service component. AP is course-specific, each course is independent of any other AP course offered, and AP courses are offered at all LISD high schools," the LISD website states.

Vandegrift and Leander High School were the only high schools in the district to offer the IB programs.

Sophomore Kevin told KXAN he transferred from Cedar Park High School to be part of the program, leaving behind peers he's come to know over the last 10 years of his education. He said the program is "awesome" and it's beneficial not only for the students involved in it, but also the whole school as well as the district, because it improves overall education and boosts enrollment rates.

"When it was removed, I couldn't believe it, I was in shock. We created a group chat to fight for what was right," Kevin said. "It is unfair that they can decide in a split second that they can remove what we've worked so hard to fight for."

Serena, a sophomore who moved to Texas from Canada last year, said she's been planning to participate in IB for six years now. She said she aspires to be a genetic engineer, and the program would have helped her get ahead before getting to college, now she's rethinking her plans.

"We got five days to redo our four-year plans, which was upsetting because we've been planning for so long," Serena said.

"The day the message came out, I was furious," Sasha told KXAN. "I didn't understand why, there was no compromise."

Students plan to attend the board meeting Thursday evening and are posting on social media about the program.

The message Sasha wants Leander ISD leaders to hear: "Believe that we are enough and that we deserve the opportunities we get. Removing programs, specifically IB, isn't removing just money, it's removing students' opportunities."