Austin Independent School District announced on May 14 the release of evaluation scores and upcoming plans for six school campuses scheduled to close at the end of the 2025–26 school year.
The update is part of the district’s response to declining enrollment and reduced funding, with an emphasis on minimizing impacts to students and staff. The district said it has completed a data-driven review process to identify responsible options for properties identified as surplus.
According to Austin ISD, each site was scored based on potential future uses following a multi-step process. This included collecting data through market analyses, entitlement studies, community engagement feedback, historical evaluations, and assessments of facility conditions. The results showed varying suitability for adaptive reuse (with or without improvements), long-term ground leases, or fee simple sales across Becker, Bedichek (land), Dawson, Ridgetop, Sunset Valley, and Widen campuses. Detailed scoring information is available on each campus-specific page.
Community input remains central in the decision-making process. A second round of public meetings will be held between May 13 and June 4 at each affected campus from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., beginning with presentations followed by group discussions. Residents can also provide feedback online.
The administration plans to present a recommendation at the June 18 Board Voting Meeting. Any decisions regarding property sales or long-term leases will require separate board votes in the future. “We understand that these decisions are deeply personal to our school communities and neighborhoods. We remain committed to transparency and care as we work to balance community perspective with our responsibility to serve all Austin ISD students,” said district officials in their statement.
The Austin Independent School District educates more than 72,000 students across over 100 multicultural communities where more than 100 languages are spoken; it operates a network of elementary through high schools including magnet programs while maintaining a graduation rate above state averages according to the official website.
