AUSTIN, Texas — Paredes Middle School is closed for summer break, but a proposal from Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura could keep it from reopening for the 2026-27 school year.
Education Austin President Ken Zarifis called the situation “unfortunate” and said, “It’s a difficult situation.” Zarifis said the district is being forced into hard decisions, adding, “The last thing the district wanted, the last thing teachers wanted, the last thing we wanted was a problem like this. But what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to deal with the problem, face it, and move forward.”
Segura’s proposal would close Paredes in an effort to “support” and increase student outcomes. In the proposal, Segura said that despite investments by the district over the past few years, student growth at the campus “has not improved fast enough.” If approved, students who would have attended Paredes would instead be split between Bailey and Mendez middle schools.
Zarifis said the closure would be difficult for families, saying, “because they’re anticipating going to a school, be it 6th grade, 7th grade, or 8th grade, they’re anticipating it. But it’s also an age level where there’s change in transition. It’s a difficult time.”
Senovio Santander is the parent of a soon-to-be 6th grader at Mendez Middle School. In a message to CBS Austin, he says he thinks “this will have a huge impact on the classroom size” as his child enters the school.
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Asked whether the district could potentially close another school, Zarifis blamed the state, saying, “Well, I think it’s because of the state. It really doesn’t have anything to do with the school district. The school district’s responding to what the state’s doing, and the state has done this.”
When asked whether closing Paredes could save the district money or help it avoid a state takeover, Zarifis said, “I don’t think it saves the district money so much as what I think it does is it allows us to make a decision for our schools. These are ours, and it’s important that we do that. We know that the state will take over this district if it wants to.”
Austin ISD declined interview requests and directed questions to the superintendent’s comments from the previous day. Questions submitted to the district included whether Austin ISD believes it could close another school in a similar situation before the start of the school year, and whether closing Paredes would help prevent a state takeover of the district.
The Texas Education Agency was also contacted about the proposal, and a response is pending.
In May, as the district discussed moves to address ongoing budget crises and the possibility of a state takeover, Segura said, “One of the things that we’re needing to do as we go through this process is to really ensure that all of our resources, as limited as they are, go to where they need to go to ensure that our students continue to achieve academically.”
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees will review the proposal at a special session on July 28 before a potential vote on July 30.