Austin ISD lays out restart options, timeline and costs for Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools

Austin Independent School District officials on May 2 outlined proposed turnaround plans for Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools and a compressed timeline to submit the plans to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Dr. Jacob Reach, chief of board services and governmental relations, told the Board of Trustees the "primary goal of a turnaround plan is to produce significant and sustainable gains in student achievement and move the school towards a C rating within two years." He said the district expects to return to the board with a recommended plan on June 12 and submit the plan to TEA with a June 30 deadline set by the agency.

The board was briefed on three practical options the district says remain viable given the short window: a district-managed restart (AISD-run restart with new staffing and an ACE-style model), a partner-managed restart through a so-called "1882" partnership (an outside operator approved by TEA), or reassigning students to higher-performing schools. The presentation emphasized constraints: TEA approval windows, the need for preapproved partners for an 1882 arrangement, and the time required to prepare receiving schools if reassignment were pursued.

District staff presented preliminary estimates and constraints. For a district-managed restart the administration estimated roughly $1.7 million per campus per year in additional…