School closures on the horizon for Austin ISD
AUSTIN (KXAN) — There is big change coming to Austin ISD as the district is beginning the process to close and consolidate schools.
The district said the move comes after six years without an increase in school funding from the state, as well as declining enrollment.
There were 74,645 students in Austin ISD in the 2021-22 school year and in the 2023-24 school year there were 73,707.
AISD said they have about 25,000 empty seats in schools across the district.
In December 2024, KXAN highlighted the struggles the district would be facing as they looked to make cuts after announcing a more than $110 million deficit.
“It’s going to be a process to figure out where those cuts come from,” said AISD Trustee Lynn Boswell, in December. “At a time when we need more we are making due with less.”
Now, the district is working on consolidating schools to save money.
“It really is a difficult but necessary next step to avoid any harmful budget cuts to campuses,” said Raechel French, director of planning for AISD.
The process to identify which schools will be consolidated or closed will take some time and won’t happen until the 2026-27 school year.
How will the district decide which schools will close and be consolidated?
The district said they are building a transparent decision-making tool that reflects community values and priorities. Some of the factors will be based on enrollment at the schools.
“We have some campuses that are very over enrolled and some that are very under enrolled,” said French.
KXAN asked if schools like Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools, which have continued to make failing grades, could close even after the district said they would not.
“Every school is on the table at this point,” said French.
Will high performing schools be excluded from closures?
According to the district’s FAQs page they said: “We are analyzing our entire district looking for opportunities to consolidate schools. While accountability ratings will be a factor we consider, a high accountability rating does not mean that a school would not be considered as part of a consolidation plan.”
AISD said they are currently gathering data and information from parents, staff and community members to understand their values and priorities. You can take the survey here.
“The feedback we are looking for is not if we close schools, it is really how we can go about doing better than we have tried doing it before, because we recognize we didn’t do it in the best way in the past and we weren’t as transparent,” said French.
The district said they anticipate a detailed plan outlining school consolidations and transition plans by mid fall, 2025.
