Austin Independent School District Superintendent Matías Segura outlined a multi‑part consolidation and alignment plan at a community meeting, saying the district must redistribute programs and campuses to address uneven resources, meet state accountability standards and manage a continuing budget shortfall.

The plan includes alignment of school models, revisions to transfer policies, budget reviews, campus‑level changes that affect Becker and other neighborhoods, and strengthened accountability measures. "Cada 1 de los 7000 comentarios que nos mandaron los leímos," Segura said, describing months of community input the district reviewed as it developed recommendations. He warned the district faces state accountability risk for schools with low ratings and said the plan is intended to avert losses of campuses under state action.

Why it matters: Families said the proposed moves could break community ties, disrupt students’ dual‑language instruction and lead families to leave the district, which would hurt enrollment and revenue. Parents and former principals at the meeting gave firsthand accounts of past consolidations and urged the district to protect neighborhood access to bilingual programs.

Community concerns and district responses

Parents repeatedly raised access to dual‑language instruction as their top concern. Community members asked whether schools such as Becker would be rezoned to Galindo or Sánchez and whether students displaced by consolidations would retain access to dual‑language classrooms. A district presenter said program lists and application windows will be published early in the first period and families will be able to apply to programs across the district; staff also said they will consider community proposals for combining nearby programs.

On staffing, the district acknowledged a shortage of certified bilingual teachers. "87 por 100 de su presupuesto va a las maestras," Segura told attendees while describing the constraints the district faces and the limited leeway to reduce personnel costs. District staff said the system currently has about 58 dual‑language sites and is recruiting teachers and using waivers where needed; they committed to hiring campus directors in December so leaders can begin staffing decisions, and said final hiring processes will not open until the end of April to align with enrollment and transition schedules.

Logistics and timeline

District staff described supports they plan to deploy during transitions, including mental‑health professionals, counselors, portable classrooms and coordinated transportation for families whose assigned programs change. Officials said transition work will be phased over years rather than months; staff repeatedly told the room that while some decisions aim to occur this year, the implementation timeline is designed to allow planning ahead of registration.

Board process and next steps

Staff said the plan may be presented to the school board in November for a vote and that the board will make final decisions. No formal board action or vote occurred at the meeting. District staff encouraged continued dialogue, said the published plan documentation will be updated with details and sensitivity analyses, and asked families to continue submitting proposals and questions.

What remained unresolved

Parents at the meeting pressed for clearer public modeling of potential enrollment loss or gains after consolidation, specific guarantees about program placement for affected students, and precise counts of available seats for dual‑language instruction in each neighborhood. Staff committed to publishing further documentation and to refining transfer guidelines and program lists, but could not guarantee specific long‑term enrollment outcomes at the meeting.

The district said it will continue community meetings and update its publicly posted plan materials ahead of any formal board vote.