Austin ISD holds virtual meetings on possible school closures

AISD deciding what to do amid budget deficit

Austin ISD will continue an online outreach program to discuss the proposal to close schools. The focus of the virtual open house is on the results of a recent community survey.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin ISD will continue an online outreach program to discuss the proposal to close schools. 

The focus of the virtual open house is on the results of a recent community survey. 

Is Austin ISD closing schools?

Future of education in AISD protest

A group of Austin ISD parents, staff, and educators are calling on the district to provide quality public education for all students.

The backstory:

Back in May, Austin ISD conducted a community survey about consolidation and adjusting school boundaries. The top three concerns in the survey were: quality of teachers, academic excellence, and travel distance. 

The top potential benefits identified in the survey included: balance of resources, quality of teachers, and varying perspectives. A little more than 14,000 people responded to the survey.

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A group of Austin ISD parents, staff, and educators are calling on the district to provide quality public education for all students.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Austin ISD will continue a series of online virtual open house meetings. The discussion will focus on the survey and how it will be used to identify schools that could be closed. 

This consolidation process comes as some Austin schools are undergoing repair work and getting upgrades. But AISD also has a multi-million-dollar budget deficit and a drop in enrollment by more than 10,000 students over the last 10 years. 

Dig deeper:

Five years ago, a round of closures happened. A full breakdown has not yet been provided on whether the closure process provided significant financial savings for the district. 

The AISD board in January did authorize a deal with the United Way to re-propose making Pease Elementary into an early childhood center.

What's next:

Consolidation workshops, providing a deeper dive into the data, will be held in July.  

Officials with Austin ISD say they will spend the summer analyzing the survey and the feedback they get from the open house meetings. A consolidation proposal could go to the school board in mid-fall. Any school targeted for closure will not close until the 2026–27 school year.  

Parents react to possible school closures

Local perspective:

Zack Russell's 4-year-old son will start his first year of school at Doss Elementary.

"So, we're just trying to enjoy it and be in the moment, and we'll see where it goes from here," said Zack Russell.

There had been talk about school consolidation for several months, but Russell was not entirely clear about what Austin ISD is planning to do.

"I think it's important to stay involved and understand the news and information that's happening within your neighborhood and your community. And I think, yeah, it's definitely something that I'll definitely be looking into," said Russell.

AISD offers money to seasoned teachers

Austin ISD is offering money to seasoned teachers to come to failing schools in the district and help "turn them around." This is an effort to avoid a take over by the Texas Education Agency

Rebecca Hart was at a park near Doss Elementary and Murchison Middle schools with her granddaughters. She is worried about school staff and that the process could become political.

"I think it's ideal to have neighborhood schools, I do, especially elementary schools," said Hart.

She does not like the idea of closing down local elementary schools because of what it can do to a neighborhood and to the students. 

"It is wrong for an elementary school child to be on a bus for two hours coming and going. That's wrong," said Hart.