The Austin (Texas) Independent School District has released a final version of a school consolidation plan that calls for closing 10 schools.
KUT News reports that the proposal targets eight elementary schools — Barrington, Becker, Dawson, Oak Springs, Ridgetop, Sunset Valley, Widén and Winn Montessori — and two middle schools—Bedichek and Martin.
Three other elementary schools—Maplewood, Bryker Woods and Palm—were on an earlier list of campuses that could be closed, but the district now plans for them to stay open.
Superintendent Matias Segura said this version of the plan reassigns 3,796 students and eliminates 6,319 empty seats. The plan is expected to generate more than $20 million in immediate gross savings.
The consolidation plan comes in response to declining enrollment in Austin over the past decade.
The school board is scheduled to vote later this week on the plan, which would go into effect before the 2026-27 school year.
Under the revised plan, all students at Widén Elementary School will relocate to Rodriguez Elementary. Segura said the change was made after board members raised concerns about students from failing schools transferring to another failing school.
Parents in the district have raised concerns about the closures affecting the availability of dual language programs. The final plan will see Reilly Elementary’s dual language program close, though the school will remain open. Students previously enrolled in that program will be given priority transfers to other dual language campuses.
