Bedichek Middle School families to discuss consolidation changes with Austin ISD
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Independent School District (AISD) will meet with families of Bedichek Middle School on Monday morning to discuss the district's proposed consolidation plan.
The district first released its draft plan to families in early October, and the district said it has received more than 7,200 comments through their online comment card. It released an updated draft plan on Oct. 31, which included changes to some school boundaries.
The plan proposes closing 13 schools, redrawing boundaries for most other campuses and reassigning students to improve campus capacity and program consistency. The plan to close schools and move students comes as Austin ISD is trying to reduce a nearly $20 million budget shortfall. The district has also seen a 14.5% decrease in enrollment over the last decade, from more than 84,000 students in the 2014-15 school year to about 72,000 in 2024-25.
As part of the latest plan, the district said Bedichek students could be reassigned to other middle schools, such as Covington, Paredes or Mendez. The district said it's also considering reopening the school at a different campus, possibly for grades pre-Kindergarten through eighth. It could also be reopened at a later time as a dual-language school.
Austin ISD has used the past several weeks to hold information sessions and answer questions from the community.
Monday's meeting is set for 8:30 a.m. AISD Superintendent Matias Segura will speak, along with other members of AISD.
With so many proposed changes, KXAN has created the following guide featuring frequently asked questions. You can jump to a specific question using these links:
- Why did the district introduce this plan?
- Which schools are slated to close?
- Where will students at closing schools go?
- How did the district decide which schools to close?
- How are the schools set to close rated by the state?
- What happens to turnaround plans at schools that are closing?
- What happens to bond money allocated to the closing schools?
- What will happen to the buildings if schools close?
- What are the new campus feeder patterns?
- Can my child stay at their current school?
- Can younger siblings go to the same school as their older siblings?
- When can I apply for a transfer for my child?
- Where will dual language programs be located?
- Where will the Montessori program be located?
- Where will International High School be located?
- How much money does the district expect to save through this plan?
- When will the plan be voted on?
- When would the changes take effect?
- What have board members said?
- How can parents give their feedback on the plan?