AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) — Trustees from the Austin Independent School District voted to shut down Paredes Middle School Thursday night.
Austin ISD superintendent shares details on ‘disruptive’ Paredes Middle School closure
Austin ISD first announced its intention of closing the south Austin school July 22. Superintendent Matias Segura described the decision as “disruptive” but essential for student success.
“The absolute thing that has to be in place for our students to be successful is to have educators in the classroom who love our students,” Segura said at Thursday’s meeting.
Trustees voted 7-2 for a plan transferring Paredes’ 353 students to Bailey Middle School and Mendez Middle School, with the former receiving 55% of 7th and 8th graders.
- How trustees voted
- For: Candance Hunter (District 1), Kevin Foster (District 3), Kathryn Whitley Chu (District 4), Lynn Boswell (District 5 & board president), Andrew Gonzales (District 6), David Kauffman (District 7) and Arati Singh (At-Large)
- Against: LaRessa Quintana (District 2), Fernando Lucas de Urioste (District 8)
Paredes is the eleventh Austin ISD school to close for the 2026-2027 academic year. District leadership says the middle school faced the district’s highest vacancy rate and falling test scores — despite slight improvement in the fall 2025 semester…