KIPP Texas Chief Executive Officer Saba Ali told the board on Sept. 25 that management is recommending the closure of seven schools across three campuses in Austin and San Antonio after the 2025–26 school year, citing multi‑year enrollment declines and an unsustainable subsidy burden on the system. The board received the recommendation and scheduled public community meetings in October and a formal vote for a special board meeting in December; no closures will occur before the end of the current school year.

Why it matters: KIPP Texas said the closures are intended to disrupt what staff described as an “unhealthy cycle” — low enrollment that produces underutilized buildings, reduced revenue, and cuts that eventually affect academic programming systemwide. Management said earlier interventions and a clearer portfolio strategy are meant to stabilize finances and protect classroom instruction.

At the meeting, Ali identified the campuses and schools included in the recommendation: Commerce Campus in San Antonio (KIPP Un Mundo Primary and KIPP Camino Academy), Austin Ridge Campus (KIPP Alegría Primary and KIPP Academy of Arts & Letters), and Austin South Campus (KIPP Obras elementary, KIPP Beacon Prep middle, and KIPP Brave High School). Ali told the board, “Our recommendation is to close 7 schools across 3 campuses in Austin and San Antonio after school ends at the end of this school year.” She also said a 100% of affected KIPP students will be offered reenrollment to another KIPP school within their region.

Management presented a phased process that led to the recommendation. Staff said they used a mix of enrollment trends, wait‑list and demand data, building utilization (functional capacity), neighborhood demographic forecasting and financial modeling to classify campuses into categories such as “near‑term concern” or “longer‑term challenge.” Staff said roughly 30% of KIPP Texas campuses are significantly underutilized and that the system has exhausted central budget reductions that do not affect campuses directly.

Board and staff directions: the board was not asked to vote on closures on Sept. 25. Instead staff described next steps: regional community meetings in October (with Spanish and ASL interpretation and translated materials), a November board meeting to review themes from community feedback, and a special December meeting where the board will vote on any closure actions. Staff said they are developing transportation plans and talent retention options for affected employees and emphasized that schools will remain open through the 2025–26 school year regardless of the December vote. Jenna Moon, chief of staff, said bringing the recommendation to families in September was intended to preserve parental choice ahead of October enrollment cycles.

Questions from board members focused on numbers and supports. Board members asked how many students would be affected and what reenrollment rate staff expect; staff said they will provide more detailed enrollment and transportation modeling in closed session and in subsequent community materials but indicated they do not expect to reenroll 100% of displaced students. Staff also said they will redeploy instructional supports and talent resources before and during any transition to preserve the current school year’s instructional quality.

Background and constraints: staff emphasized that the organizational health review is focused on enrollment and financial sustainability, not academic accountability. Management separately highlighted recent academic gains across the portfolio but said enrollment-driven subsidy pressure required a portfolio-level response. Bain acted as a consultant in the analytic work, and staff said they would reassess impacts after any Phase 1 actions are implemented.

What’s next: staff will hold community meetings in October and report themes back to the board in November. The board will consider a vote in December. If the board approves closures, management said it will present transportation plans, detailed student‑impact and financial modeling, and talent retention proposals to the board and to affected families before summer 2026.