Latest / Austin Signal / Austin ISD approves plan to close 10 schools

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Austin ISD approves plan to close 10 schools · Austin Signal

• 0:09
  The Austin Independent School
• 0:11
  District has passed a plan that's
• 0:12
  going to close 10 of its campuses
• 0:14
  across the city.
• 0:15
  The plan was altered multiple times
• 0:17
  and originally called for 13
• 0:19
  school closures, as the local school
• 0:21
  district works to reduce a
• 0:23
  multi-million dollar budget deficit
• 0:25
  and empty seats at many of
• 0:27
  its campus.
• 0:27
  We're going to talk more about the
• 0:29
  plan, the vote, and what happens
• 0:30
  next for Austin ISD.
• 0:32
  Plus, state officials released a
• 0:33
  stash of communications between
• 0:35
  Governor Greg Abbott and Elon Musk.
• 0:37
  But the nearly 1,400 files were
• 0:39
  heavily redacted.
• 0:40
  We're gonna hear about how public
• 0:42
  information is becoming a little
• 0:44
  less public.
• 0:45
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:47
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:49
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:50
  And what's it like to spend 24
• 0:52
  hours in Austin's airport?
• 0:54
  We'll have a taste of that coming up
• 0:56
  next right here on Austin
• 0:58
  Signal.
• 1:08
  Howdy out there, this is Austin
• 1:10
  Signal. I'm your host, Jerry
• 1:12
  Kehannel. It is Monday, November
• 1:14
  24th.
• 1:15
  Thank you for spending part of your
• 1:16
  day here with us.
• 1:18
  A very happy Thanksgiving week to
• 1:19
  everyone out there if you're
• 1:20
  planning to be away from home
• 1:22
  sometime this week.
• 1:23
  We certainly hope your travel plans
• 1:24
  go smoothly and of course that
• 1:26
  you enjoy the holiday season.
• 1:30
  Let's get into today's
• 1:32
  show.
• 1:33
  After weeks of public comments and
• 1:35
  community rallies, as well as
• 1:36
  multiple versions of a strategy put
• 1:38
  forward, the Austin Independent
• 1:40
  School District has officially
• 1:42
  okayed the consolidation plan for
• 1:44
  the 2026-2027
• 1:46
  school year.
• 1:47
  It was a contentious rollout for the
• 1:48
  plan that will not close as
• 1:50
  many schools as originally proposed,
• 1:52
  but still slates 10 campuses
• 1:54
  for permanent closure.
• 1:56
  For more about the plan and the
• 1:58
  vote, we are joined by KUT's Travis
• 1:59
  County reporter, Katy McAfee.
• 2:01
  Howdy, Katy.
• 2:02
  Hey, Jerry.
• 2:03
  Thank you for being with us here on
• 2:04
  Austin Signal.
• 2:05
  So the Austin ISD School Board voted
• 2:07
  last week in a meeting on Thursday.
• 2:10
  You were at that meeting.
• 2:11
  What was it like?
• 2:12
  Yeah, the meeting was intense.
• 2:14
  It actually ended Friday morning
• 2:16
  around 2 a.m.
• 2:17
  Oh wow. There were, yeah.
• 2:19
  What time did it start?
• 2:20
  Start it at six.
• 2:21
  Okay, oh my goodness.
• 2:22
  It went straight through from 6 to
• 2:24
  2.
• 2:24
  Straight through from 6 to like 2 30
• 2:26
  almost
• 2:27
  And that was because I'm guessing
• 2:28
  tons of people wanted to get one
• 2:30
  last opinion in before the vote.
• 2:32
  That's right, there were about 150
• 2:34
  parents and community members who
• 2:36
  signed up for public comment and it
• 2:38
  lasted almost three hours.
• 2:40
  Well, you can read some
• 2:42
  of the reporting that Katy covered
• 2:43
  in that meeting over at KUT.org,
• 2:46
  but we're going to talk a little bit
• 2:47
  about it right here.
• 2:49
  One thing that we've been hearing a
• 2:50
  lot throughout this process, Katy,
• 2:52
  has been the plan.
• 2:53
  The plan is changing.
• 2:54
  The plan this, the plan is that.
• 2:56
  But the plan to
• 2:58
  address a budget deficit that
• 3:00
  Austin ISD has been working against
• 3:02
  for a while now.
• 3:03
  How is, just remind us,
• 3:05
  what is that budget deficit?
• 3:06
  And how is the district saying that
• 3:08
  the plan that they voted on last
• 3:09
  week is going to help address that
• 3:11
  deficit?
• 3:12
  Yeah, so the budget deficit they're
• 3:13
  dealing with right now is about
• 3:14
  $19.7 million.
• 3:17
  And this plan they estimate will
• 3:19
  generate about $21.5
• 3:20
  million.
• 3:21
  And the main way they're going to
• 3:23
  get that money is through reducing
• 3:25
  staff positions.
• 3:26
  So at these closing schools, what
• 3:28
  they're doing is they're reaching
• 3:29
  out to teachers who are already in
• 3:31
  the district and saying, hey,
• 3:33
  where would you like to work next
• 3:34
  year? And they're gonna try to
• 3:35
  reassign those teachers to schools
• 3:37
  that are still open.
• 3:38
  But they will still be able to
• 3:40
  reduce staff positions because the
• 3:42
  district hires thousands of
• 3:44
  new teachers every year.
• 3:45
  And they're gonna put a hiring
• 3:46
  freeze for external candidates in
• 3:48
  January while they try to
• 3:50
  reassign those teachers that are
• 3:51
  already there.
• 3:52
  And then they're going to make money
• 3:53
  by not having to pay utilities
• 3:55
  at those schools, not having offer
• 3:57
  food service, not having offered
• 3:59
  transportation services to those
• 4:00
  schools. Things like that.
• 4:01
  And that hiring of 1,000 workers is
• 4:03
  that just like a normal thing as
• 4:05
  part of a turnover at schools?
• 4:07
  That's what the superintendent says,
• 4:09
  yeah.
• 4:09
  Okay, let's talk a little
• 4:11
  bit about that meeting.
• 4:12
  You were there Thursday, lots of
• 4:14
  community input, lots of phone calls
• 4:15
  as well.
• 4:16
  What was the general consensus
• 4:18
  of the comments that you were
• 4:20
  hearing ahead of the vote?
• 4:21
  Yeah, great question.
• 4:22
  So, you know, throughout these
• 4:24
  nearly three hours of public
• 4:25
  comment, almost every single person
• 4:27
  who was there was asking the board
• 4:29
  to reject this plan.
• 4:30
  Okay. There were a lot of
• 4:32
  parents, as there has been for a lot
• 4:34
  of these community meetings from
• 4:36
  Becker Elementary and from Ridgetop
• 4:37
  Elementary, these are schools
• 4:39
  that offer dual language programs,
• 4:41
  which are being closed and
• 4:43
  moved to schools near where more
• 4:45
  emergent bilingual students live.
• 4:47
  A lot of parent expressed that they
• 4:49
  are going to the- they're
• 4:51
  sending their kids to AISD so they
• 4:53
  can be part of this dual language
• 4:55
  program.
• 4:56
  And if they go through with this
• 4:57
  plan, they're going to consider
• 4:58
  sending their kid to a different
• 5:00
  school outside the district or going
• 5:01
  to private school.
• 5:03
  And then there were also some
• 5:05
  teachers and a one third
• 5:07
  grader from Ridgetop Elementary who
• 5:09
  was at the meeting as well.
• 5:11
  This third graded got a standing
• 5:12
  ovation.
• 5:14
  And he kind of bravely stood up on
• 5:16
  a chair and spoke into the mic and
• 5:18
  said I'm learning a lot about my
• 5:20
  feelings at school and how to listen
• 5:22
  to my feelings and this plan
• 5:24
  makes me feel sad.
• 5:25
  I'm going to have to make new
• 5:26
  friends and I've built relationships
• 5:28
  with my teachers.
• 5:29
  I really like the lunch lady at my
• 5:31
  school and I think you should listen
• 5:33
  to your feelings too and not pass
• 5:34
  this plan.
• 5:36
  And then finally, a lot of teachers
• 5:38
  kind of shared similar sentiments.
• 5:39
  They've built really close
• 5:40
  relationships with their students at
• 5:42
  school and they're just sad to
• 5:44
  see that go away.
• 5:46
  And one teacher said,
• 5:48
  If you are going to go through with
• 5:49
  this plan, at least follow up with
• 5:51
  some accountability.
• 5:53
  We as teachers and as the community
• 5:55
  members in the district want to see
• 5:57
  how this plan is going to make
• 5:58
  money. And we wanna see you rebuild
• 6:00
  trust with the community because
• 6:02
  they feel like that's been lost.
• 6:03
  Yeah, that certainly has been echoed
• 6:06
  by lots of folks that they feel like
• 6:07
  they've lost trust with the district
• 6:09
  through the rollout of the plan.
• 6:11
  But the plan now has been voted on.
• 6:13
  So how is AISD going to go
• 6:15
  about implementing it?
• 6:17
  You mentioned I think about, you
• 6:18
  know, teachers maybe having a survey
• 6:20
  as to like which schools might work
• 6:22
  best for them, as well as the kids
• 6:24
  from these schools that closing.
• 6:25
  Yeah, great question.
• 6:26
  So yes, all teachers are
• 6:28
  getting or have already gotten a
• 6:30
  survey asking where they would like
• 6:31
  to work next year.
• 6:32
  The district is going to spend
• 6:34
  pretty much the remainder of the
• 6:35
  school year reassigning those
• 6:37
  teachers and staff to new schools.
• 6:39
  And then as far as
• 6:41
  families go and to where students
• 6:43
  are going to be going next
• 6:45
  school year at these closing
• 6:46
  schools, Austin ICD has
• 6:48
  a plan for basically every
• 6:50
  school. So for example,
• 6:52
  Students at Dawson Elementary,
• 6:54
  that's in my neighborhood, those
• 6:56
  students are gonna be reassigned to
• 6:57
  Galindo. But then some students
• 6:59
  have more options and it might be a
• 7:01
  little confusing for them.
• 7:02
  Students at Becker Elementary, for
• 7:03
  example, can re-enroll in
• 7:05
  the dual language program somewhere
• 7:07
  else that might not be near where
• 7:08
  they live or they can go to Galinda
• 7:10
  or they go to Zilker.
• 7:11
  So parents are probably spending
• 7:13
  the next few months too trying to
• 7:15
  figure out what's best for them
• 7:16
  and it's been a long rollout
• 7:17
  process. We only have about 25
• 7:19
  seconds left.
• 7:21
  Is there a chance that more schools
• 7:22
  might be closed after this plan now
• 7:24
  has been voted on?
• 7:25
  Yeah, that's right.
• 7:26
  The superintendent, Matias Segura,
• 7:27
  has been really clear that this
• 7:28
  process isn't over.
• 7:31
  Some schools that could be voted on
• 7:32
  next year, those three that were
• 7:34
  taken off the list, that's
• 7:35
  Maplewood, Breaker Woods, and Palm.
• 7:37
  And he said a plan could come again
• 7:39
  before voters next year.
• 7:41
  But a lot of those details are still
• 7:42
  up in the air.
• 7:43
  Alrighty, well you can read about
• 7:45
  some of those details over at
• 7:47
  KUT.org.
• 7:48
  That is Katy McAfee.
• 7:50
  She is KUT's Travis County reporter.
• 7:52
  Katy, thank you for your
• 7:53
  information.
• 7:53
  Thank you so much, Jerry.
• 8:01
  Elon Musk and Texas Governor Greg
• 8:03
  Abbott have built a close working
• 8:04
  relationship over the years,
• 8:06
  but details about their partnership,
• 8:08
  found in more than 1,000 pages
• 8:10
  of emails, are hidden to
• 8:12
  the public.
• 8:13
  The Texas newsroom's investigative
• 8:14
  reporter Lauren McGaughy should
• 8:16
  know. She tried to get copies
• 8:18
  of the communications between Musk
• 8:20
  and Abbott's office.
• 8:21
  Simple ask touched off
• 8:23
  a month's long quest.
• 8:25
  When Governor Abbott spoke at an
• 8:27
  energy summit in Austin last month,
• 8:29
  he gave the businessman there his
• 8:30
  pitch for Texas.
• 8:31
  But by leading America in
• 8:34
  economic development, our motto is
• 8:36
  that Texas moves at
• 8:38
  the speed of business.
• 8:39
  There was one event that
• 8:41
  captured that more than anything
• 8:42
  else.
• 8:43
  That pivotal moment, Elon
• 8:45
  Musk's decision to build a giant
• 8:47
  Tesla factory near the state
• 8:48
  capital.
• 8:49
  It was 2020 and Musk had hit
• 8:51
  regulatory hurdles in blue states
• 8:52
  that he didn't much care for.
• 8:54
  The governor told Musk he wouldn't
• 8:56
  need to worry about that in Texas.
• 8:58
  He was actually able to get
• 9:00
  it completed and have vehicles
• 9:01
  rolling off of it in less than
• 9:03
  18 months.
• 9:04
  Since the Tesla Gigafactory was
• 9:06
  built, Musk's footprint has spread
• 9:08
  across the state, all while he's
• 9:10
  maintained a close partnership with
• 9:11
  Governor Abbott.
• 9:12
  The Texas newsroom wanted more
• 9:14
  insight into this relationship.
• 9:15
  So back in April, we filed a records
• 9:17
  request asking the governor's office
• 9:19
  for its emails with Elon Musk and
• 9:21
  people from his companies, including
• 9:23
  SpaceX and Tesla.
• 9:25
  First, Abbott's office wanted to
• 9:26
  charge to review the records.
• 9:28
  The Texas Newsroom cut a check for
• 9:30
  $244.
• 9:32
  But after it cleared, Abbott's
• 9:33
  office fought against releasing any
• 9:35
  emails at all, saying they included
• 9:37
  private exchanges with lawyers and
• 9:39
  details about policymaking
• 9:40
  decisions.
• 9:41
  In a letter, which a colleague of
• 9:42
  mine will read from, the governor's
• 9:44
  lawyer asked the state attorney
• 9:45
  general to step in and let them keep
• 9:47
  Musk's emails secret.
• 9:49
  The release of these deliberations
• 9:50
  would have a chilling effect on the
• 9:53
  frank and open discussion necessary
• 9:55
  for the decision-making process.
• 9:57
  An attorney with SpaceX also argued
• 9:59
  against making the emails public.
• 10:01
  He said doing that would reveal
• 10:02
  trade secrets.
• 10:04
  All of this was happening while
• 10:05
  Texas lawmakers were meeting in
• 10:06
  Austin.
• 10:07
  At the same time the Texas newsroom
• 10:09
  was fighting for these emails,
• 10:11
  Musk's lobbyists were in the
• 10:12
  capital, drumming up support for
• 10:14
  a dozen new state laws to benefit
• 10:15
  his companies.
• 10:17
  And Musk had a good year.
• 10:18
  Most of the bills he wanted passed,
• 10:20
  including a major one giving SpaceX
• 10:22
  greater control over the beach near
• 10:24
  its launch site in South Texas.
• 10:27
  Starbase, the newest Texas city
• 10:28
  along the coast, and the SpaceX team
• 10:31
  got some wins in this last
• 10:32
  session of the Texas legislature.
• 10:35
  But that insight we were hoping to
• 10:36
  gain about Musk's influence in the
• 10:38
  Capitol?
• 10:39
  Ultimately, we weren't able to find
• 10:40
  it in the public records.
• 10:42
  That's because when the Attorney
• 10:43
  General made his decision about
• 10:45
  Abbott and Musk's emails, he let
• 10:46
  the governor withhold many of these
• 10:48
  communications. And the records
• 10:50
  Abbott's office was ordered to
• 10:51
  release to us were mostly redacted.
• 10:54
  As in completely blacked out so that
• 10:56
  not one word was readable.
• 10:58
  According to a note on the records,
• 11:00
  many were kept secret because they
• 11:01
  included information related to
• 11:03
  competitive advantage.
• 11:04
  Experts say this case is
• 11:06
  representative of how hard it's
• 11:07
  become to get public records in
• 11:09
  Texas.
• 11:10
  Corporations can object to the
• 11:11
  release of proprietary information.
• 11:14
  And Reid Pillifant says governments
• 11:15
  are siding with them more and more.
• 11:17
  The fact that a governmental body
• 11:19
  can withhold more than
• 11:21
  a thousand pages or redact more than
• 11:23
  1,000 pages of
• 11:25
  documents that are directly related
• 11:27
  to a major business's activities
• 11:29
  in Texas is certainly problematic.
• 11:32
  Pillifant is an Austin-based
• 11:33
  attorney specializing in public
• 11:34
  records and media law.
• 11:36
  He says there is a clear public
• 11:37
  interest in whether government
• 11:38
  documents like this are released.
• 11:40
  Every Texas citizen should care
• 11:42
  about access to these
• 11:44
  kinds of records because they
• 11:46
  shed light on how our public
• 11:48
  officials are making big decisions
• 11:50
  that affect the land where
• 11:52
  people live and how
• 11:54
  their taxpayer dollars are
• 11:56
  being spent.
• 11:57
  Pilafont has represented some of the
• 11:59
  Texas newsroom's partners in
• 12:00
  lawsuits seeking the release of
• 12:01
  public information.
• 12:03
  We reached out to Musk, his lawyers,
• 12:05
  and his various companies for
• 12:06
  comment. They didn't respond.
• 12:09
  In an emailed statement, Abbott
• 12:10
  spokesman said the governor
• 12:11
  rigorously complies with state
• 12:13
  open records laws and make sure
• 12:15
  to release anything that's not
• 12:16
  confidential.
• 12:18
  The Texas news room has published
• 12:19
  more information about the saga in
• 12:21
  our latest collaboration with
• 12:22
  ProPublica and the Texas Tribune.
• 12:24
  You can find it online now.
• 12:26
  I'm Lauren McGaughy in Austin,
• 12:27
  Texas.
• 12:29
  Thank you for tuning in.
• 12:30
  This is Austin Signal here on
• 12:32
  listener powered public radio
• 12:34
  KUT news 90.5.
• 12:37
  We are on the KUT app and online
• 12:39
  at KUT.org.
• 12:42
  Well, as I said at the top, it's a
• 12:43
  busy travel season for lots
• 12:45
  of Texans.
• 12:46
  We're going to head on out to the
• 12:47
  airport and spend a little time
• 12:49
  there. Stay with us.
• 12:50
  We'll be back in a moment.
• 12:58
  This is Austin Signal, welcome back,
• 13:00
  thank you for being here with us.
• 13:02
  This week is one of the busiest
• 13:03
  weeks at the Austin Airport, no
• 13:05
  doubt about it, but have you ever
• 13:07
  stopped and just looked around and
• 13:08
  noticed all the stories and emotions
• 13:10
  happening at an airport?
• 13:11
  It's a lot to take in if you take a
• 13:13
  moment.
• 13:14
  Well, KUT's project manager,
• 13:16
  Matt Largie, and a group of
• 13:17
  reporters from the KUT newsroom
• 13:19
  decided to take a snapshot
• 13:21
  of sorts for the podcast
• 13:23
  24 Hours in Austin.
• 13:25
  And here we join them on a
• 13:27
  day in May last year.
• 13:29
  Right around lunchtime.
• 13:32
  1113, a woman named Cynthia and
• 13:34
  her husband Alejandro are
• 13:36
  waiting at the bottom of the
• 13:37
  escalators.
• 13:38
  They're looking up at the line of
• 13:40
  people coming down to baggage claim.
• 13:42
  They're waiting for her cousin,
• 13:43
  Olivia. She's on leave from the
• 13:44
  military, coming home from Korea.
• 13:46
  She left right after Christmas,
• 13:48
  so a few months.
• 13:50
  She's been gone.
• 13:52
  Are you looking forward to seeing
• 13:53
  her?
• 13:53
  Yes, I want to cry right now,
• 13:55
  so I'm excited to see her.
• 13:59
  No, it's
• 14:01
  fine.
• 14:02
  It looks like he wants to cry now
• 14:04
  after this
• 14:06
  we're gonna go surprise her mom at
• 14:08
  work like my older cousins
• 14:10
  don't know that she's here yet so
• 14:11
  I'm picking her up to surprise
• 14:13
  everybody
• 14:14
  Her mom doesn't know either?
• 14:16
  We told her that she was in
• 14:18
  like some secret training that she
• 14:20
  had to do.
• 14:22
  So nobody knows that she's here
• 14:24
  yet, except for me and my husband.
• 14:26
  Thank you.
• 14:26
  How do you think they're going to
• 14:28
  react?
• 14:29
  Just as bad as I am right now,
• 14:31
  but my older cousin Lydia
• 14:33
  her boss is in on it So
• 14:35
  they're actually having like a
• 14:37
  potluck and stuff like that for her
• 14:39
  So it's gonna be
• 14:41
  really exciting.
• 14:42
  I think her dad's gonna Be the worst
• 14:44
  though like way worse than I am.
• 14:46
  Right now. He'll break down and cry
• 14:48
  like a huge baby
• 14:51
  Cynthia's husband, Alejandro, was in
• 14:52
  the Marines.
• 14:54
  He's been out for eight years, but
• 14:55
  he still struggles with it.
• 14:57
  These events, you know, with her
• 14:58
  coming home, still brings up a lot
• 15:00
  of emotions for me.
• 15:02
  My brother, who's four years
• 15:03
  older than me, passed away in Iraq
• 15:05
  in 2006.
• 15:07
  And so, like I said, these
• 15:09
  emotions, that's kind of a mixture
• 15:11
  for me, because of everything, but
• 15:13
  at the same time, I'm not
• 15:14
  going to put a damper on her coming
• 15:16
  home, because, of course, it's her
• 15:17
  moment.
• 15:19
  So try to be as
• 15:21
  uplifting and happy as
• 15:23
  possible.
• 15:25
  That's really complicated though.
• 15:27
  Yes it is.
• 15:29
  I've been watching this staircase
• 15:31
  and off and on to this one.
• 15:34
  Alejandro wanders off closer to the
• 15:36
  escalator to get a better look.
• 15:38
  He seems tense.
• 15:39
  Do you think this is hard for your
• 15:40
  husband?
• 15:41
  A little bit, yeah, but
• 15:44
  knowing that it's something good,
• 15:46
  it kind of outweighs the bad.
• 15:49
  I kind of have to talk to him about
• 15:50
  certain things just to make sure it
• 15:52
  doesn't mess with his PTSD.
• 15:54
  So last night I was like, are you
• 15:55
  sure you're okay?
• 15:56
  You don't have to come with me?
• 15:58
  So he's like, no, no.
• 15:59
  I want to be there for you and for
• 16:00
  her.
• 16:01
  And I think he's okay for
• 16:03
  right now because he knows it's
• 16:05
  something good. It's not anything
• 16:07
  bad.
• 16:08
  But then Alejandro calls to Cynthia.
• 16:10
  What
• 16:13
  Olivia is coming down the escalator.
• 16:15
  Every time we go in, it's like...
• 16:19
  Cynthia drops her bag and runs over
• 16:21
  to her cousin.
• 16:22
  She's in tears.
• 16:23
  Alejandro waits his turn to greet
• 16:25
  Olivia.
• 16:30
  So this is my cousin Olivia.
• 16:32
  Yes.
• 16:33
  I'm ready to get home.
• 16:34
  I know you've had a long trip.
• 16:35
  I want some Mexican food, don't
• 16:37
  you?
• 16:38
  What did you mention there?
• 16:39
  Yeah, yeah, like she really wants
• 16:41
  some Mexican food.
• 16:42
  Yes. Did you tell him I was been in
• 16:43
  Korea? Yeah
• 16:44
  I will let you guys get on with your
• 16:46
  reunion, I'll get out of your way,
• 16:48
  but thank you, thank you for your
• 16:49
  service.
• 16:54
  All the way up.
• 16:57
  Around 12.15, I'm outside watching
• 16:59
  the jumble of cars pull up to the
• 17:01
  curb to drop people off.
• 17:03
  Security people with whistles are
• 17:04
  doing their best to manage the
• 17:06
  chaos.
• 17:08
  It's funny because the grackles seem
• 17:10
  like they're responding to the
• 17:11
  whistles singing along with them.
• 17:19
  Pull up all the way,
• 17:21
  pull up and around.
• 17:23
  Fascinated by these guys directing
• 17:26
  traffic.
• 17:27
  People are just so bad
• 17:29
  at pulling up to the curb
• 17:31
  and not blocking other people at the
• 17:33
  airport.
• 17:34
  Just like, needs constant tending.
• 17:37
  12:25, waiting for grandma to come
• 17:39
  in.
• 17:39
  Who's this baby?
• 17:40
  This is Stella.
• 17:42
  Hi Stella.
• 17:44
  She's a girl.
• 17:45
  Is that your little sister?
• 17:47
  Mm-hmm.
• 17:48
  Do you want to talk?
• 17:49
  What do you got there?
• 17:50
  Is that Barbie?
• 17:51
  Yeah.
• 17:51
  You're waiting for Grandma?
• 17:53
  Mm-hm.
• 17:54
  Yeah? What are you going to do when
• 17:54
  she gets here?
• 17:55
  I don't know. She got a surprise for
• 17:57
  me.
• 17:58
  She has a surprise?
• 17:58
  What do you hope it is?
• 18:00
  I don't know.
• 18:01
  We don't know.
• 18:03
  Is it another Barbie doll?
• 18:04
  I like your boots, though.
• 18:06
  Thank you.
• 18:07
  Your whole outfit is very nice.
• 18:08
  Thank you.
• 18:09
  Do you like dinosaurs?
• 18:11
  Uh, no.
• 18:12
  They're very scary.
• 18:13
  They don't look very scary
• 18:15
  on your dress!
• 18:18
  Yeah, but these ones are pretty,
• 18:20
  but real ones look scary.
• 18:22
  What's your favorite animal?
• 18:24
  Um, I don't know.
• 18:26
  You don't know?
• 18:27
  Please pay attention to
• 18:29
  the area in front of the terminal
• 18:30
  building.
• 18:31
  At 2.38 p.m., producer Greta
• 18:34
  Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez meets
• 18:35
  a guy coming back to Austin from
• 18:38
  visiting family in Brazil.
• 18:39
  It's complicated.
• 18:40
  For me, I don't feel like here is
• 18:42
  home and I don´t feel there is home
• 18:44
  as well.
• 18:44
  So when I'm here, sometimes I'm
• 18:46
  missing there. When I'm there, I'm
• 18:47
  missin' here.
• 18:49
  And I think the most complicated for
• 18:51
  me was I got divorced last year.
• 18:55
  So now I don't have family.
• 18:58
  When I moved here, I moved with
• 19:00
  the idea to have a family,
• 19:02
  have kids.
• 19:03
  And at the end I didn't, and I got
• 19:05
  divorce.
• 19:07
  And what do your parents say?
• 19:09
  What did they say when they knew
• 19:10
  that you were moving to the US?
• 19:13
  My mother still thinks I will move
• 19:15
  back.
• 19:17
  Does she ask, like, well, when are
• 19:18
  you coming back or?
• 19:20
  Not anymore in the beginning she
• 19:22
  was she was okay well you
• 19:24
  move it only because you're ex-wife
• 19:26
  now you're your god
• 19:28
  You moved here because of her?
• 19:31
  That's what my mother thinks
• 19:32
  about me.
• 19:34
  Oh, wow.
• 19:36
  325 p.m.
• 19:37
  The information desk.
• 19:39
  I'm sorry, can I help you?
• 19:40
  I'm just trying to figure out which
• 19:42
  claim my bag is
• 19:44
  at.
• 19:45
  Southwest, they use baggage
• 19:47
  claim four, and when it
• 19:49
  gets crowded, they used five.
• 19:50
  Okay, thank you.
• 19:51
  You're welcome,
• 19:54
  I'm a volunteer.
• 19:55
  Oh, okay.
• 19:57
  I'm what they call an ambassador,
• 19:59
  and most of us are seniors.
• 20:03
  Why volunteer at the airport?
• 20:05
  Oh, because it's lots of fun.
• 20:06
  I get to talk to people from all
• 20:08
  over the world sometimes.
• 20:10
  You know, I enjoy it.
• 20:12
  It gives me people to talk.
• 20:13
  I'm a widow. I live alone.
• 20:15
  Sir, did you need some help?
• 20:18
  Did you need help?
• 20:19
  Yes. May I help you?
• 20:21
  Where can I find
• 20:24
  door L so I can
• 20:26
  release my
• 20:29
  cargo?
• 20:32
  Okay, what airline is your cargo
• 20:34
  on? Okay,
• 20:36
  you need to go to their baggage
• 20:37
  officer. It's all the way down there
• 20:39
  where baggage claim seven is
• 20:41
  yes
• 20:42
  Appreciate it. Okay.
• 20:44
  Door L.
• 20:45
  I mean, what the heck is door L?
• 20:47
  We don't have a door L!
• 20:51
  A few minutes later, the same guy
• 20:53
  comes back to the information desk.
• 20:55
  I better help this gentleman right
• 20:56
  here.
• 20:57
  Can I help you, sir?
• 20:59
  I just need to clear it's customs
• 21:01
  so I can pick it up from
• 21:03
  a different location.
• 21:07
  So you're picking something
• 21:09
  up from customs.
• 21:10
  They told me
• 21:12
  either door L,
• 21:15
  door 25,
• 21:17
  go to door L straight ahead
• 21:19
  or volunteer desk to the right
• 21:21
  Okay, well the letter L
• 21:23
  is all the way down at the end and
• 21:25
  then go out to the curve.
• 21:27
  So it's outside or
• 21:29
  is it where 7 is located?
• 21:33
  I have Asperger's, sorry, so...
• 21:35
  Okay, I'm old.
• 21:37
  I'm elderly and I'm getting
• 21:39
  confused.
• 21:40
  I don't know what to say.
• 21:41
  What are you trying to find?
• 21:44
  Are you trying to find a bag
• 21:46
  that has been shipped?
• 21:49
  It's a live animal, so it was
• 21:50
  shipped, a dog.
• 21:52
  It's a dog.
• 21:54
  Oh, thank goodness.
• 21:57
  From abroad and I'm here to just
• 21:58
  clear the customs so I can
• 22:00
  pick it up from Terminal T.
• 22:02
  The customs agents are all behind
• 22:04
  the locked door working with
• 22:06
  international arrivals.
• 22:07
  I can do that.
• 22:08
  You can try, when those doors
• 22:10
  open, you can try talking
• 22:13
  to a customs person.
• 22:14
  Yeah, I get tackled
• 22:16
  and shot maybe or something.
• 22:18
  I don't want to go into
• 22:20
  a locked door.
• 22:21
  They don't carry guns, and it's
• 22:23
  illegal to have a gun in the
• 22:25
  airport.
• 22:26
  I don't look so...
• 22:29
  OK, I appreciate it, thanks.
• 22:30
  Okay, good luck soon.
• 22:34
  That's the podcast, 24 Hours in
• 22:36
  Austin, and don't worry, reporter
• 22:37
  Greta Díaz González Vázquez followed
• 22:39
  that man to find the dog at the
• 22:41
  airport.
• 22:42
  You can find out what happens by
• 22:43
  listening to the podcast episode
• 22:45
  by going to kutkutx.studio.
• 22:49
  That's our show for today.
• 22:51
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 22:52
  We will talk to you tomorrow.
• 22:54
  Have a great day out there.