Austin ISD releases latest version of closure, consolidation plan ahead of board vote

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin ISD is releasing the latest version of its school closure and consolidation plan Friday.

The district says this is the first part of the recommended plan that includes programmatic relocations and changes related to turnaround plans, including school consolidations.

What we know:

The latest recommended plan will:

• Reassign students from two schools with state-mandated turnaround plans due to multiple years of unacceptable ratings
• Reassign students from six schools that will have program shifts, including school-wide dual language, Montessori and International High School programs

3,796 students are expected to be reassigned and 6,319 seats will be eliminated.

Austin ISD superintendent Matias Segura says that the number of students impacted by the plan has fallen from the original version. 

"It's less than what we would have otherwise," said Segura. "Because all those boundary changes didn't occur, and those consolidations didn't occur."

Changes from previous plans

Some of the changes from previous plans include:

• Palm, Bryker Woods and Maplewood ES to remain open for 2026-27 school year
• Districtwide boundary changes aimed and balancing enrollment and aligning feeder patterns
• Moving Garza Independence High School or Alternative Learning Center
• Creating a non-zoned Language Immersion Program at Joslin ES, which will stay a neighborhood school for 2026-27 school year
• Relocating and changing school-wide dual language programs at Becker, Ridgetop, and Reilly ES to two-way programs at Sanchez, Pickle and Wooten ES

Sanchez, Pickle and Wooten Elementary Schools will have wall-to-wall dual language programs, but the district has transitioned from a reassignment to a restart for those schools in order to prioritize the students originally zoned to attend them. 

"What the restart allows us to do is to ensure that those students zoned to that school remain the priority of that school," said Segura. "Given the size of the schools, all other seats will be made available to the incoming program."

Schools still set to close

The following schools are still set to close at the end of the school year:

• Barrington ES — students will be reassigned to Guerrro-Thompson ES or Wooldridge ES depending on address
• Dawson ES — students will be reassigned to Galindo ES
• Oak Springs ES — students will be reassigned to Blackshear ES
• Winn Montessori — students will be reassigned to Andrews or Pecan Springs ES based on address; Montessori program will move to Reilly ES
• Widén ES — students will be reassigned to Rodriguez ES
• Becker ES — students will be reassigned to Galindo or Zilker ES based on address
• Ridgetop ES — students will be reassigned to Reilly ES
• Sunset Valley ES — students will be reassigned to Boone or Cunningham ES based on address
• Martin MS — students will be reassigned to Kealing, Marshall or Lively MS based on address
• Bedichek MS — students will be reassigned to Covington, Paredes, or Mendez MS based on address
• International HS — students will return to home campus and be provided with specialized Newcomer support

Turnaround plans will be implemented at the following schools:

• Guerrero-Thompson ES (Barrington ES's plan)
• Galindo ES (Dawson ES's plan)
• Blackshear ES (Oak Springs ES's plan)
• Rodriguez ES (Widén ES's plan)
• Kealing MS (Martin MS's plan)
• Covington MS (Bedichek MS's plan)

The district will also be no longer offering sixth grade at Blazier, Mathews, and Lee elementary schools starting next school year. 

To read the latest plan, click here.

The backstory:

The district started its consolidation development plan nine months ago. The first draft was released at the beginning of October, which changed boundary lines for 98 percent of AISD schools.

The district says they have to make changes because of a budget shortfall, declining enrollment, and low performance at some schools.

Thirteen schools were on the initial closure list. In an update earlier this month, three schools, Palm, Bryker Woods, and Maplewood Elementary Schools were taken off the list.

Lisa Bennett, a Maplewood Elementary parent, spoke to FOX 7 ahead of the final plan release. 

"It's just it feels kind of like whiplash, but right now, it's whiplashed in a good direction, so we're okay with that. We're just hoping that they don't whip us back the other way," she said.

The Board of Trustees is still expected to vote on school consolidations and reassignments for campuses requiring turnaround plans, as well as relocating school-wide dual-language programs on Nov. 20.

The three schools taken off the closure list won't be included in that vote. 

Any campus affected by boundary changes separate from a turnaround plan will also be postponed.

Superintendent Matias Segura says there were integrity concerns about people leading the process. He says two staff members have been placed on leave as they do an internal investigation.

Bennett says she'd like more clarity. 

"We are all a little confused in our community about what happened," she said. "A lot of people have asked me if Maplewood knows anything because we were one of the schools that have benefited from this, but we don't, our community is really in the dark."

Dig deeper:

Through the process, Segura has emphasized the importance of transparency and empathy — but not everyone feels the school district has succeeded in demonstrating those values. 

"I would not say they’re being transparent," said Lisa Moses, the parent of an AISD student. "I would not say they're being empathetic either. And it appears very haphazard with no strategic vision and overall plan in place."

Segura addressed this on Friday, saying they have tried to communicate as much as possible, but that, given the scale and limited resources of the district, it has been a challenge. 

"It's hard to have a better answer than we're doing the absolute best that we can," said Segura. "Could we do better about, you know, sharing where we are at each specific school? We could, and we try to."

What's next:

The school board is expected to vote on the plan on Nov. 20 to meet a deadline required by the Texas Education Agency.

The district says that in the spring, it will continue working on the Academic Plan and Vision, including reviewing and vetting feedback and proposals for campus closures and boundary changes.