Austin ISD to Release School Consolidation Plan This Friday
Austin Autonomous School District (AISD) will publiclyโฃ release its school consolidation planโค this Friday, outlining potential campus closures, new attendance boundaries, and changes to district programming. Superintendent Mariana Segura announced the plan will be available on the district’s website and socialโ media, with letters also being sent directly to families. An interactiveโ “What’s โmy school?” tool will accompany โtheโค release, allowing parents to determine โhow thier campusโ might be affectedโข and providing instructions for submitting feedback.
The plan, which has been under development since atโ least May, is a response to a $19.7 โmillion budget shortfall and โimbalances inโค student enrollment across the district. AISD currently has more seats available โthan students enrolled, while some schools are significantly overโ capacity.
District officials stated that closures will only occur at schools with excess capacity. However, even overenrolled schools will experience โฃchanges, including โredrawn attendance boundaries and adjustments to the district’s โtransfer policy, designed โto alleviate overcrowding. โฃ
Programming may also be impacted,with potential cuts,changes,or relocation of programs to different campuses.โค Such as,the district-wide dual language program will be โขmoved to schools locatedโ closer to areas with higher concentrations of emergent bilingual students,though access to the program will remain available to students,potentially requiring a school transfer.
The consolidation process is alsoโ being considered alongside the performance of schools receiving low ratings from the Texas Education โAgencyโข (TEA). More than a dozenโ AISDโ campuses received a third consecutive โfailing grade in August. Burnet, โขDobie, and Webb middle schools are already under improvement plans dueโค to receiving four consecutiveโ “F” grades. A fifth consecutive failing grade could lead to state takeover of the entire district. While state accountability ratings are being factored into the plan, โฃSegura emphasized that simplyโค closing failing schools is not a viable solution, as improvement requirements will follow students if they transfer to a new school.
Segura encouraged families to thoroughly review the plan and provide feedback. The district will use community inputโ toโค refine the plan over the next five weeks, culminating in a vote by the Boardโ of Trustees on Novemberโค 20th.
