Thursday’s vote came after the district first announced a proposal to close the campus on July 22.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted on Thursday to close Paredes Middle School, just weeks before the 2026-27 school year is set to begin.
Thursday’s vote came after the district first announced a proposal to close the campus on July 22. In its proposal, the district cited continued academic struggles with the South Austin school, and came in spite of investments the district said it made to improve academic success at the school.
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The board agreed to the proposal, voting 7-2 in favor.
District leaders said the proposal came as a result of years of struggling student performance, with Paredes receiving its third consecutive “F” rating from the state despite additional resources and support. They also said they believe consolidating students into other campuses would expand access to academic programs, extracurricular activities and student services.
The closure is now set to happen just weeks before classes begin on Aug. 18. Under the plan, current Paredes students will move to either Bailey Middle School or Mendez Middle School, depending on their home address. Leaders also said that transportation would be provided for eligible students, and transfer requests would be prioritized to help families navigate the change.
District officials also said they plan to retain current Paredes teachers and staff within Austin ISD, with the goal of placing many of them at either Bailey or Mendez middle schools.
Prior to Thursday’s vote, district leaders held meetings with the community on Tuesday and Wednesday. During a special school board meeting on Tuesday night, speakers castigated the plan, stating that it has left families scrambling for answers.
“Closing Paredes a month before school starts feels confusing, abrupt and harmful,” one community member said. “We’ve been told we cannot afford to wait, when we can give these students access to stronger academic environments right now. Why is this suddenly an emergency? Why can we not we provide this strong, academic environment at Paredes and at all schools?”
During Wednesday’s meeting at the Paredes campus, Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura said district leaders exhausted efforts to improve the campus before proposing the closure.
“It’s not something we want,” Segura said. “That is not what this is about. It’s about understanding that over the course of the year, we had a plan that we implemented, and we went with fidelity, provided the resources, the support and we still didn’t get there.”