Dive Brief:
- Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees approved a plan Thursday evening to close 10 schools in the Texas district by the 2026-27 school year in the midst of ongoing enrollment declines.
- The closures will impact nearly 3,800 students who will be reassigned to new schools in the district and the plan will cut 6,319 open seats, according to Austin ISD.
- The move is expected to save the district $21.5 million, according to Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura during the Thursday board meeting. That amount more than covers the district’s budget deficit of $19.7 million this school year.
Dive Insight:
Segura said during the board meeting that developing and carrying out this school closure plan has been “a very difficult process.”
Most of the schools impacted by closures are at the elementary level, according to the district.
Segura also said he wished the district didn’t have to make this decision, “but the pressures are gargantuan.”…