Austin ISD is reaching out to the community for input on the criteria it will use to evaluate schools for potential closure.
The district’s planning director, Raechel French, emphasized the importance of feedback from the communities affected, stating, “We’re really wanting to hear from the specific communities that could be impacted, which right now is any community.”
As part of the consolidation process, the district is assessing its more than 100 campuses and wants to prioritize what matters most to residents.
A survey has been launched and will remain open until June 6 to gather community sentiments on how the district should approach these decisions.
French clarified, however, that the feedback requested is not about whether to consolidate but rather how to conduct the process in an effective and compassionate manner.
The school board is scheduled to vote this fall on which campuses to close, with any closures not taking effect until the 2026-27 school year.
School Board Vice President Kathryn Whitley Chu highlighted the necessity of clear communication with families about potential changes, stating that community engagement is crucial.
“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 remarked during a school board meeting.
Trustee David Kauffman urged Austin ISD leaders to present evidence that closing schools will lead to financial savings, given that the process is often emotional and disruptive for affected communities.
“It’s something I think we really would owe the communities that we’re discussing this with,” he said, emphasizing the need for transparency.
Kauffman also noted that school closures can lead to unexpected costs, such as increased transportation expenses for the district and families.
French outlined two significant challenges prompting the need for school closures: a budget deficit of around $100 million and declining student enrollment.
Despite having made $63 million in non-campus cuts this year, the district’s financial situation remains dire.
She pointed out that even the recent tax rate increase approved by voters in November is insufficient to resolve the funding gap.
The district’s student population has also decreased sharply in recent years, dropping from over 83,000 students in the 2015-16 school year to just under 73,000 now.
This combination of financial and enrollment challenges leaves the district with limited options.
“We’re now choosing between making harmful budget cuts to our campuses, which we’ve heard loud and clear we’re trying to avoid or consolidating into fewer, better-resourced schools,” French explained.
She acknowledged that the process of closing schools is inherently disruptive and that Austin ISD has struggled with it 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 added.
In terms of the evaluation process, French emphasized that all schools will be assessed, stating that every campus is currently on a “level playing field.”
She assured the community that there is no predetermined list of schools for closure and that transparency will be maintained throughout the process.
The feedback collected from the community will help develop a tool to evaluate each school, comprising a set of criteria and a contextual analysis for each campus to determine the feasibility of a closure.
The district will continue evaluating schools while addressing ongoing projects funded by the 2022 bond, which garnered overwhelming support from voters.
Austin ISD is not unique in considering school closures; other districts across Texas, including Eanes ISD, El Paso ISD, San Antonio ISD, and Fort Worth ISD, are also consolidating schools to manage costs.
French highlighted this broader trend, stating, “You can see this is not only something that AISD is going through. This is happening throughout our state.”
To keep the community informed, the district plans to hold several information sessions, with one scheduled for Tuesday and another on June 5.
Details about these sessions will be available on the Austin ISD website, and families are encouraged to participate.
French indicated that the school board would review an updated draft of the criteria for evaluating schools at a meeting on June 26.
By August, the district aims to have a ranked list of all campuses ready for further analysis, diving deeper into the contextual evaluations through August and September.
The school board is expected to make a final decision in November regarding which campuses will be closed, marking a significant shift for the Austin community as it confronts the realities of budget constraints and changing student demographics.
image source from：https://www.kut.org/education/2025-05-23/austin-tx-independent-school-district-campus-closures-consolidations
