The Austin school district is moving to immediately close Paredes Middle School before the start of the 2026-27 school year, a drastic step the district is taking as the campus faces the possibility of failing another state accountability rating and further state intervention.
While Austin ISD in a statement on Wednesday attributed the imminent closure to slow academic progress, labor union Education Austin said district leaders told the group they expected the campus to earn a fourth consecutive failed rating when state ratings are released in mid-August.
The closure comes at a pivotal moment for Austin ISD as it awaits state accountability ratings expected in mid-August. The ratings for Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools could determine whether the district faces a state takeover. If any of those campuses receive a fifth consecutive rating, Education Commissioner Mike Morath could either order the campus closed or replace Austin ISD’s elected board with an appointed one.
The district announced its proposal just months after Superintendent Matias Segura pledged to avoid additional school closures.
Ken Zarifis, president of Education Austin, said the district informed the union midday Wednesday. Education Austin made public the proposed closure on a statement posted to social media Wednesday afternoon. Austin ISD trustees are expected to vote on the proposal next week after reviewing the proposal and gathering community input on July 28 and 30. School closures require board approval.
Austin ISD said the proposal is a difficult decision, but district leaders are committed to high expectations and rigor for all students.
“Middle school is a critical bridge to high school, college, and future careers,” Matias Segura said in the statement. “We cannot afford to wait when we have the ability to give these students access to stronger academic environments right now,”
Zarifis said the closure is a difficult but necessary step to avoid more interruptions during the school year, particularly if the Texas Education Agency were to require further intervention at the school in response to another low academic accountability rating.
“We don’t want to deal with this. We know the district doesn’t want to deal with this, and it’s unfortunate,” Zarifis said. “But it’s a matter of, of all the terrible things we have to do, which is a bunch of terrible things because of the state, this is the least terrible of all of them.”
Earlier this week, Austin ISD and Texas Council for International Studies mutually agreed to end a partnership that would have placed the three middle schools under the management of the nonprofit for the next three school years only weeks after it began. The Texas Education Agency denied the partnership’s SB 1882 benefits in May, including what would have been a two-year reprieve from state accountability ratings, ending the district’s latest effort to avoid a takeover.
Paredes is one of two dozen Austin ISD schools on state-mandated improvement plans during the 2025-26 school year because of repeated failing accountability ratings.
Paredes Middle School students will attend Bailey or Mendez middle schools, according to Austin ISD’s statement. The district is working with staff at Paredes, Bailey and Mendez and “every current Paredes employee will be placed in a position within the district and there will be no job losses as a result of this consolidation,” the district’s statement said.
The district’s announcement said that by moving students to Bailey and Mendez, Austin ISD intends to connect students with “expanded academic programs and robust learning environments equipped to accelerate growth,” as well as high-quality instruction and broader access to extracurricular offerings such as specialized athletics, fine arts, and electives.
The district will offer on-campus counseling, campus tours and welcome events to help students integrate into their new environments, the district said Wednesday.
The announcement comes less than a year after Austin ISD trustees voted to close 10 schools and after Segura said the district would avoid additional closures until completing the redrawing of districtwide boundaries.
That position shifted after district leaders announced in June that the district’s projected deficit had grown to $95 million, roughly five times the amount officials projected in June 2025. Trustees ultimately approved about $205 million in budget reductions for the 2026-27 school year to avoid a deeper financial crisis. In July, Segura told families the district would first redraw boundaries in areas affected by November 2025 school closures before launching into a districtwide boundary review in the spring that could include additional closures.
“Taking this extra time allows us to monitor enrollment trends following recent closures, analyze data from our October enrollment snapshot, and further progress our academic visioning,” Segura’s July statement said. “We want to ensure that future engagement opportunities take place during the school year when it is most convenient for families to participate.”
