Austin ISD is asking the community to weigh in on the criteria it will use to evaluate schools for potential closure.
“We’re really wanting to hear from the specific communities that could be impacted, which right now is any community,” Raechel French, the director of planning, said. “We’re looking at all schools.”
French said knowing what’s most important to people will help determine what the district should prioritize as it reviews its more than 100 campuses during the consolidation process. A survey is open until June 6.
“I think it’s also important to note that we’re not asking for feedback on if we’re doing consolidations,” she said. “We’re really asking for feedback on how, to make sure we do it in the most empathetic, transparent way possible.”
While the school board will vote this fall on which campuses to close, the ones selected won’t be shuttered until the 2026-27 school year.
Trustees urged Austin ISD administrators to ensure the district is communicating with families about possible changes. School Board Vice President Kathryn Whitley Chu said engagement is essential.
"So being really, really thoughtful about how that gets done ... we could make our schools a lot stronger or we could really destroy communities and the assets that we have," she said at Thursday's school board meeting.
Trustee David Kauffman also called on Austin ISD leaders to provide evidence that closing schools actually saves money, especially because it is an "incredibly hard and painful" process.
"It's something I think we really would owe the communities that we're discussing this with," he said.
Kauffman noted that closures can lead to other expenses, such as higher transportation costs for both the district and families.
A budget deficit combined with declining enrollment
French said Austin ISD must close schools to address two major challenges facing the district. One is its budget deficit. She said the district has already made $63 million in non-campus cuts this year and the deficit is still around $100 million. Even new revenue generated from a tax rate increase voters approved in November is not enough to fill the funding gap.
The second challenge is that the district just doesn’t have as many students as it used to. During the 2015-16 school year, the district had more than 83,000 students. Ten years later, the number of students is just under 73,000.
That double whammy has left few options, said French.
“We’re now choosing between making harmful budget cuts to our campuses, which we’ve heard loud and clear we’re trying to avoid," she said, "or consolidating into fewer, better resourced schools."
French said she knows closing schools is an inherently disruptive process and one Austin ISD has not handled well in the past.
“And so for us to do it the right way — or not even the right way, the best way — we need to hear from you about what you really care about," she said.
All schools will be evaluated
The last time Austin ISD publicly proposed a plan to close schools was in 2019. Twelve campuses were on the chopping block, including Webb, one of three middle schools the district is working to improve to avoid state intervention.
"Every single school right now is on a level playing field. There is no secret list."Raechel French, Austin ISD's director of planning
Ultimately, the school board voted to close Pease, Metz, Sims and Brooke elementary schools. At the time, the district’s equity officer said the process was “flawed” and “inequitable.”
French said that previous list has no bearing on the current consolidation effort.
“Every single school right now is on a level playing field. There is no secret list,” she said. “And when there is a list or starting to become scenarios, we will let the community know.”
The feedback people provide will be used to develop a tool to assess each school and rank campuses. The first part of that tool is a set of criteria that will be applied to each school. The second part of the tool will then look at the specific context of each school to determine whether closing it is feasible.
The district will be evaluating schools while it continues to make progress on projects funded by the 2022 bond voters overwhelmingly approved.
Districts across Texas are closing schools
Austin ISD is not the only district looking at closing schools in an attempt to save money. The Eanes ISD school board voted in January to combine two elementary schools. In a May 12 video presentation, the district’s chief of operations, Christine Steenport, pointed out districts from El Paso ISD to San Antonio ISD and Fort Worth ISD were consolidating schools.
“You can see this is not only something that AISD is going through,” she said. “This is happening throughout our state.”
French said people can keep up with the process here. She added that the district is planning to hold community information sessions in the weeks ahead — with one set for Tuesday and another for June 5. Details will be on Austin ISD’s website. French said the school board will get an updated draft of the criteria that will be used to evaluate schools at its June 26 meeting.
She said the district will have a ranked list of all campuses by August and "really dive deep into that contextual analysis through August and September."
The district anticipates the school board will vote in November on which campuses to close and consolidate.
