The Austin Independent School District is postponing most of its districtwide school boundary realignment changes until the 2028-29 school year. The new plan could include closing more schools in the next couple of years, though which ones is unclear.
The district first mentioned a plan to realign attendance zones in 2025, but it was postponed after community pushback. This May, district officials began working on a boundary realignment plan that would modify enrollment areas for elementary, middle and high school students. Those changes were set to take effect in the 2027-28 school year to help balance enrollment across the district.
AISD officials also have been holding meetings to hear feedback from the members of the public, some of whom have raised concerns about how these changes will affect their families and about what they consider an already unstable district.
In an email sent to families Friday, AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said moving the timeline will allow the district to make better and more sustainable long-term decisions. The plan is now divided in two phases.
Phase 1: Changes to consolidating campuses and over-enrolled schools
The first phase will include campuses receiving students from 10 schools that closed this summer. It will also include schools with projected over-enrollment that would need portable classrooms that Segura said the district “cannot afford.” A 2024 audit showed the district could save money by closing portables at multiple campuses. During this phase, the district will also define an attendance area for Marshall Middle School.
Segura said district officials are still working on the list of campuses that will be impacted by this phase, and will share a draft of the changes on Aug. 7. The AISD board of trustees is expected to vote in September on these changes, which are set to be put into effect for the 2027-28 school year.
Phase 2: Potential school closures and districtwide changes
The second phase will be districtwide and will include changing some feeder patterns: the sequence of schools a student attends based on home address. District officials will begin working on the changes in January of 2027.
Segura said the second phase could also include more school closures. In 2025, with enrollment dropping and years of budget deficits, AISD proposed closing 13 schools. Ultimately, three were taken off the list, and 10 were closed at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
AISD’s enrollment has significantly declined in the last few years, including a loss of more than 3,000 students during the last school year. If enrollment trends continue, the district would have multiple under-enrolled schools, which would further aggravate the district’s financial strain. In his email, Segura did not specify which schools would be under consideration for closure.
Segura said a rubric and a timeline for Phase 2 will be shared this fall, and said the community will have plenty of time to provide feedback. The board is expected to vote on this second stage of the plan in 2027 ahead of implementation in the fall of 2028.
KUT reached out to AISD for more information.
