Austin ISD announced the closure of four elementary schools, primarily in East Austin, in hopes of saving money on under-enrolled, underperforming schools. The decision, which aimed to reallocate the funding to improve the quality of education for all students, received backlash from many students and parents from the schools set to shut down. The district was accused by the community of disproportionately shutting down schools on the east side of I-35, a racial dividing line in Austin. We at Macjournalism even threw our hats in the ring with a news story on the issue along with a staff editorial opposing the Austin ISD decision. Issues surrounding inequity in Austin often involve the segregation that developed along the interstate, which dates back to when I-35 was first built in the 1960s. This physical barrier between white Austinites and people of color in Austin represents a divide that permeates society as a whole. Black people in America are deprived of certain privileges and advantages starting when they are born which lasts into adulthood. This includes poorer quality of education, which is an issue that directly affects Austin ISD as a whole and McCallum. In an educational environment like this, it’s important that the community be concerned about how big decisions affect them. It’s this kind of awareness that we at Macjournalism hoped to encourage when we covered this big decision.