School closure plans underway From the cover
AISD school consolidation data rubric
Two-minute impact
The approach
AISD ranked campuses in order of how optimal they were for consolidation alongside a support and resource index to measure the level of student need. The index lowered a campus’s score by accounting for demographic groups, such as special education, low income or English learner students. “Some of these data points [are] unfairly … reflecting a reality of historic inequity and the current inequity in our district, and so we need to counteract for that,” AISD Director of Planning Services Raechel French said at a July 15 school consolidation workshop. In 2025, 41 AISD campuses received failing D or F ratings from the state, 26 of which may require turnaround plans on how to improve student performance and avoid TEA intervention. A-F ratings will be factored into the consolidation process; however, all campuses may be considered for closure despite their rating, district officials said. The district is now conducting a contextual analysis of the data rubric results by receiving feedback from the board of trustees, campus principals and community members, French said. At an Aug. 7 school consolidation workshop, board members discussed how to balance enrollment, align feeder patterns, provide baseline offerings
Austin ISD assessed schools for potential consolidation based on the following factors, along with a support and resource index to account for different student groups.
The district is projected to face a $19.7 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2025-26 after making $44 million in budget reductions. AISD is looking to close campuses to avoid having to further cut staff positions, eliminate programs and increase class sizes, school board President Lynn Boswell told Community Impact . The district is aiming to reduce its student capacity by thousands of vacant seats as AISD’s enrollment has declined by more than 12,000 students over the last 10 years, according to the Texas Education Agency. In August, the district ranked all 116 of its campuses for potential consolidation using a data rubric that assessed campus utilization, facility condition, educational suitability and cost per student. AISD officials have said the district’s current resources are spread too thin and that consolidating campuses will allow the district to have fewer, better-resourced schools. Some teachers and parents said they are concerned about the impact on employees and families, and the socioeconomic inequities between campuses. “This isn’t anything anyone is excited to choose,” Boswell said. “It’s something we’re being pushed to choose. I think our obligation is to do it as thoughtfully, as collaboratively, as strategically as we can, but it’s a disruptive, painful process.” Rubric results Schools were ranked from 1-5 based on the need for potential changes. Higher scores mean the most concerns. This is not a list of closures.
Category Description Weight
How full or empty is the building?
Utilization rate
35%
Utilities, contracted services and rentals
Cost per student (building & operations)
25%
Quality of the physical building
Facility condition
20%
Cost per student (staffing & academics)
Staff, benefits and supplies
15%
Educational suitability
Size and types of learning spaces
5%
SOURCE: AUSTIN ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
for every campus, offer specialized programs and explore different school models. “If we’re going to have high quality education and we have limited resources, the only way to get there is by having fewer schools,” Superintendent Matias Segura said in an interview with Commu- nity Impact . “We can’t be razor thin everywhere.”
Projected enrollment decline in AISD Austin ISD is expected to lose nearly 7,600 students over the next 10 years. Historical enrollment Projected enrollment
How we got here
Despite state lawmakers passing an $8.4 billion school funding increase in 2025, Boswell said state funding isn’t keeping up with rising costs. For FY 2025-26, the district lowered a projected $127 million shortfall by selling two former cam- puses for $45 million and making $44 million in reductions alongside $17.8 million in savings from vacancies and schedule changes. This included cutting $7 million in contracted special education services and receiving $9 million in new state funding under House Bill 2. The district saved $10 million by restructuring its central office positions, which included 40 employees losing their jobs, Segura said. “We’re doing this because we have done almost everything else we can think of, except things that feel even worse than closing schools,” Boswell said. With an enrollment of about 72,000 students— down nearly 15% from 2014—AISD has over 22,000 empty seats. By 2034, AISD’s enrollment is projected to drop by nearly 11% percent to about 64,500 students, according to a new demographic
Campus
Total score
70K 72.5K 67.5K 75K
Ridgetop ES
4.15
Blackshear ES
4.05
Maplewood ES
3.75
0
Covington MS
3.74
McCallum HS
3.7
SOURCE: MGT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Joslin ES
3.56
report by MGT. The district is seeing families move to the sub- urbs as the cost of living rises in Austin, Boswell said. Meanwhile, more families are enrolling their children in charter schools, she said. Over 16,000 students residing in the district attended a charter school or another public school district in the 2024-25 school year, according to the TEA.
Gullett ES
3.55
Bryker Woods ES
3.55
Barton Hills ES
3.45
Mendez MS
3.44
SOURCE: AUSTIN ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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