As Austin ISD officials near an official vote on school consolidations Nov. 20, a final plan was shared with the community Nov. 14.

What’s happening

District officials began the process of considering school consolidations nine months ago. As of Nov. 14, Superintendent Matias Segura said the final plan that will be brought to the AISD board of trustees recommends closing 10 schools.

The board will also consider turnaround plans for failing schools during a Nov. 20 meeting in addition to the proposed program moves and school consolidations.

Some changes from the initial plan AISD officials shared back in October include:

• Palm, Bryker Woods and Maplewood Elementary schools will remain open for the 2026-27 school year, as previously reported by Community Impact.
• Widén Elementary School students will relocate to Rodriguez Elementary, rather than splitting the Widén student population between Rodriguez and Houston Elementary School.
• The school-wide dual language programs at Becker, Ridgetop and Reilly Elementary schools will relocate and be introduced as two-way dual language programs at Sanchez, Pickle and Wooten Elementary schools.
• Proposed attendance boundary changes will not be considered until next year, as previously reported by Community Impact.

The program reassignments officials are proposing include:

• The school-wide dual language program at Sunset Valley Elementary School would relocate to Odom Elementary School as an unzoned school-wide dual language program.
• With the closing of Winn Montessori, a Montessori Program could be created at Reilly Elementary School.
• Reilly Elementary’s school-wide dual language program would be introduced to Wooten Elementary School as a two-way dual language program. The Mandarin program would also move to Wooten Elementary.
• Blazier, Mathews and Lee Elementary schools would no longer have a sixth grade starting in the 2026-27 school year.
• International High School will close due to low enrollment, and students will return to their home campus to be provided with specialized support.

In total, 3,796 students would be reassigned, and 6,319 vacant seats would be eliminated under this plan if the AISD board of trustees approves it Nov. 20. The plan is expected to save more than $20 million in costs for the district.

The full list of school closures and reassignments can be found here.

How we got here

The sweeping changes come as AISD looks to address declining enrollment, lower a mounting budget shortfall and provide state-mandated intervention at 12 failing campuses.

“Over the course of a period of time, we've gotten to a point where we just cannot ensure that every student in [AISD] gets what they need to be academically successful,” Segura said at a news conference Nov. 14. “We need to do something bold. We do something big to evolve, to ensure that as a system we grow, and we are in a healthy, vibrant school system for years to come.”

On Oct. 3, AISD proposed closing 13 campuses for the 2026-27 school year alongside new attendance boundaries impacting 98% of campuses, changes to programming at some campuses and transfer policy updates. On Nov. 4, Segura announced the district would hold off on the boundary changes and the closure of Bryker Woods, Maplewood and Palm elementaries.

Segura said some of the adjustments to the initial plan were informed by community feedback.

What’s next

If the plans are approved by the board, Segura said he hopes he will have an update in December on the process.