Austin ISD parents, alumni and teachers urge board to pause school closures and protect dual-language and Montessori campuses

Dozens of parents, alumni and teachers urged the Austin Independent School District board of trustees on Sept. 18 to halt planned school consolidations and closures and to preserve successful programs, saying the district should prioritize academic supports over facilities changes.

Speakers urged a moratorium on consolidations and closures and asked the board to provide more time and detail before final votes. “If we truly want to break the cycle of underperformance, our kids need stability,” said Carla Perez, a Wynn Montessori parent. “Replacing current staff would undo years of progress and further fracture our community.”

The session was an information meeting open to public comment. The board said it had time for up to 60 public speakers; staff reported 11 people signed up to speak in person and 49 people left recorded messages. Speakers were allotted one minute each.

Many callers focused on two campuses in particular. Multiple parents and community members urged the board to extend the turnaround timeline for Wynn Montessori, the district’s only public Montessori option and a dual-language site. Speakers provided the board with campus details, saying Wynn has a roughly 200-student wait list and a high transfer-in rate. “Wynn stands out as a bright spot and is moving in the right direction,” Whitney Hazelmeier said.

A large group of callers asked the board to keep Becker Elementary open as a wall-to-wall dual-language campus. Parents and grandparents described Becker as a low-cost, high-performing program with a strong community, and volunteers said the school should be a training ground for other dual-language programs rather than being dismantled. “Becker has raised my children to be global citizens with an empathetic worldview,” Marilyn Faulkner said in a recorded message. One caller said heritage families make up “over 62% of Becker’s population.” Another said Becker is rated a B by the Texas Education Agency and scored well on the district’s cost-per-student rubric.

Other recorded callers pressed the board on Yellowjacket Stadium (an LC Anderson alumni concern tied to the 2022 bond), and several requested the district honor the bond’s commitments to that historic East Austin site.

Several speakers asked for more public data on the district’s consolidation rubric and financial model. “In the past month, we have heard about the financial impact, but not about what is happening and what will happen,” said a parent who asked for the research the board used about student outcomes after consolidation. Board members and Superintendent Anthony Segura said the rubric is posted and that staff are working with demographers and the state agency; Segura also said the district would provide additional explanatory materials and a clearer financial model in coming weeks.

Trustee Hunter asked district staff to seek clarifying guidance from the Texas Education Agency about what the commissioner will accept in turnaround plans. “If the commissioner is going to approve several different plans, then let's have him say, yes, I'm willing to do that,” Hunter said. Segura told trustees the district meets regularly with TEA staff and would post a summary of those conversations for the community.

Several speakers cited research on harms from school closures, including a UT-Austin study and national reviews finding declines in academic performance and long-term attendance effects for displaced students. Local speakers repeatedly asked for a pause to allow the district to complete an academic “baseline” — a plan that proponents said should describe what the district will do to ensure instructional continuity and support at campuses that receive displaced students.

The board did not vote on consolidation or closures at the Sept. 18 information session. Trustees did not announce a timetable for the formal vote; Segura and board staff said a detailed package of proposals and the rubric would be released publicly in October, followed by an October information session and a formal vote at the board’s September 25 or later meeting cycle.

The board will receive a full consolidation proposal, including boundary and program changes, before any final votes; several trustees asked staff to include an academic baseline and associated budget impacts with that package so the community can see the tradeoffs and planned reinvestments tied to any facility changes.

Ending: The public-comment period closed after the recorded messages; trustees thanked speakers and directed staff to post additional information online and to continue community outreach about the consolidation process.