While the updated school consolidation plan, shared Oct. 31, still involves closing the planned campuses, it adjusts some attendance boundaries and updates the district's policies related to transferring between campuses, transportation and dual-language programming.
This comes after the district received feedback from thousands of community members on an initial draft shared Oct. 3.
Going forward, AISD will consider moving Garza Independence High School to the Martin Middle School building, reopening Bedichek Middle School as a dual-language campus with additional grade levels, and relocating the Winn Montessori program to another elementary instead of Govalle, among other changes.
What’s happening
AISD has proposed closing 11 elementary schools and two middle schools, rezoning 98% of campuses, and changing the dual-language and Montessori programming offered at certain schools in the 2026-27 school year.
The sweeping changes come as AISD works to reduce thousands of vacant student seats amid an ongoing decline in enrollment and a mounting budget shortfall. AISD is expected to save $25.6 million through reducing administrative and support staff at merging campuses and lowering costs for utilities, transportation and food service.
The district has received over 7,000 comments from parents and community members, and hosted several meetings since sharing its initial plans Oct. 3.
Parents, students and teachers at various campuses have rallied together to protest the closure or rezoning of their school. Many parents have urged the district to delay voting on the closures and focus on academic outcomes.
AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said the district can no longer avoid making hard decisions as the threat of a takeover by the Texas Education Agency looms. By Nov. 21, the district must submit turnaround plans on how it will intervene at 23 failing campuses that have received consecutive F ratings from the TEA.
“If we don't do these now, all it's going to do is ... introduce greater risk to our system,” Segura said at a private media briefing Oct. 30. “I am not going to put this organization at risk.”
The update
The revised school consolidation plan details when students can remain at their campus, transfer to another school, receive transportation or participate in programs like dual-language.
The district has made the following updates:
- Rising sixth and ninth grade students may continue at their current zoned school if their feeder school has changed.
- Transfer students at a school that is closing or changing programs will be guaranteed a spot to stay with their peers at the new school locations.
- Prekindergarten students may continue at their current campus.
- Transfer requests for siblings and staff will automatically be approved unless the superintendent declares that the campus is overcapacity prior to registration.
- Students residing in attendance zones for the new nonzoned dual-language campuses will receive transportation to those schools.
- Students attending the Joslin Elementary language immersion program or the new Govalle Montessori will receive transportation unless they live within 2 miles of the campus.
- At the new nonzoned dual-language campuses, current third or fourth grade students who are not enrolled in dual-language programming can stay and participate in a temporary English or English-as-a-second-language strand.
- Mandarin language instruction will be provided at Wooten Elementary.
Earlier this month, the district proposed closing Winn Montessori and relocating the program to Govalle Elementary in East Austin. Now, the district is considering relocating the Montessori program to Zavala or Ortega elementaries, according to district documents.
At an Oct. 29 board work session, board members expressed concerns about displacing the current students living near Govalle who would be reassigned to another campus.
Bedichek and Martin middle schools, which are planned to close, could reopen as new school concepts, according to the updated plan. The district is exploring relocating Garza Independence High School to the Martin building, which would serve as a sixth through 12th grade campus. Bedichek could be repurposed to serve early childhood through eighth grade students or offer a dual-language program for sixth through 12th grades.
“It's always been our district's intention to restart or re-envision those schools at Bedichek and Martin,” Segura said.
The district may continue constructing a new $47.6 million campus for Oak Springs Elementary, which is proposed to close, and use the fully modernized school to eventually house both Oak Springs and Blackshear elementary students.
Additionally, the district is planning to reassign students from the closing Bryker Woods Elementary to Brentwood and Casis elementaries instead of Mathews Elementary. AISD is considering revising the new attendance zones for Zilker and Galindo elementaries.
Also of note
Seven of the 13 campuses that are proposed to close have received three consecutive failed ratings from the TEA and require turnaround plans. After closing these schools, the district will provide intervention at whichever campus the majority of students are reassigned to, which could include principals and teachers having to meet certain criteria.
If a Texas public school receives five consecutive unacceptable ratings, the TEA commissioner must close the school or replace the board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers. In late October, the TEA announced it would takeover Fort Worth ISD after a campus received five unacceptable ratings. Houston ISD has been led by a board of managers since June 2023.
At the Oct. 30 board meeting, interim Chief Financial Officer Katrina Montgomery said the district was projected to not have enough cash to pay its employees by Nov. 30. The AISD board approved taking out a $19 million loan to meet payroll before the district begins receiving additional property tax revenue in November.
What community members are saying
AISD families gathered outside the district headquarters before the Oct. 9 board meeting in defiance of the school consolidation plan. Parents and students held hand-painted signs advocating against the closure of their campus and chanted, “Save our schools.”
“These are generational decisions,” Sparks said. “The reason we are at risk of TEA takeover is academic, not financial.”
Many Zilker Elementary families have protested the rezoning of some students to Galindo Elementary—a C-rated campus.
Kerbey Lane Cafe owner Mason Ayer said he would not send his incoming kindergarten student to Galindo due to performance issues and safety concerns due to a railroad crossing near the campus. Kerbey Lane began offering free kids meals to families impacted by the school consolidation plan and donated funding to Sparks’ “Let’s Get it Right, AISD” campaign.
“The single most important component of our business are neighborhood families,” Ayer said. “The fact that neighborhood families are being deeply impacted by these changes is really going to hurt us.”
Bryker Woods parents held a rally against the closure of their school on the morning of Oct. 30 ahead of a meeting with Segura.
Parents said the campus should not be closed due to its high performance and enrollment. Some parents argued that the campus, which has multiple portables, could accommodate more students. Segura said portables were short-term solutions that are expensive to maintain.
“Our community is saying this feels rushed,” Bryker Woods parent Melissa Brown said to Segura. “We just need more time to show you that this does not make sense.”
What the district is saying
At an Oct. 9 board meeting, Segura apologized to community members for the disruption the school consolidation plan could cause. Segura said the plan is intended to provide strong neighborhood schools throughout the city instead of only in some places in Austin.
“These are big moments. These are big decisions,” Segura said at the Oct. 30 private media briefing. “But I also do not want to ... have a decision going into the spring semester. I really want to spend the time in planning and ensuring our students are successful and they can start the school year in 2026-27.”
District 4 trustee Kathryn Whitley Chu asked the board to consider not closing Bryker Woods at the Oct. 29 meeting. Segura said he would not have the board wait past the Nov. 20 meeting to make a decision on the consolidation plan but could consider delaying when some of the proposed changes took effect.
“I cannot stop a hard decision based on just one community's voice without really understanding how it impacts the whole,” Segura said. “The real responsibility we have is supporting 70,000 students.”
Next steps
AISD will host a Q&A event on the school consolidation plan and boundary changes from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Delco Activity Center. Segura will continue visiting campuses that are slated for closure over the coming days.
On Nov. 6, the board will hold a meeting to finalize the school consolidation plan, according to district documents.
The district is expected to release a final version of the school consolidation plan Nov. 14 before the board of trustees takes a vote Nov. 20.
On Nov. 20, the board will vote to approve turnaround plans to meet the TEA’s Nov. 21 deadline.
