The Austin school district is preparing to immediately close Paredes Middle School weeks before the start of the 2026-27 school year after district leaders concluded the campus is expected to receive a fourth consecutive failing accountability rating from the state for the 2025-26 school year, employee union Education Austin president Ken Zarifis confirmed Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The decision comes just months after Superintendent Matias Segura pledged to avoid additional school closures<\/a>.<\/p>\n Zarifis said the union, as well as school staff and community members, were notified by Austin ISD midday Wednesday about the closure, which he said would be effective before the start of the school year. Education Austin announced the upcoming closure in a statement Wednesday afternoon<\/a>. School closures typically require a board vote. Such a meeting had yet to be posted at the time of publication. Austin ISD did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The closures come at a pivotal moment for Austin ISD as it awaits state accountability ratings expected in mid-August. Those ratings for Dobie, Webb and Burnet middle schools<\/a> could determine the district\u2019s fate. If any of those schools receive a fifth failing accountability rating, Education Commissioner Mike Morath could either order the campus closed or replace Austin ISD\u2019s elected board with an appointed board of managers.<\/p>\n Zarifis said the closure is a difficult but necessary step to avoid more interruptions during the school year, particularly if the Texas Education Agency were to require further intervention at the school in response to another low academic accountability rating.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all brand new,\u201d Zarifis said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to deal with this. We know the district doesn\u2019t want to deal with this, and it\u2019s unfortunate. But it\u2019s a matter of, of all the terrible things we have to do, which is a bunch of terrible things because of the state, this is the least terrible of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Austin ISD and Texas Council for International Studies mutually agreed to end a partnership<\/a> that would have placed the three middle schools under the management of the nonprofit for the next three school years only weeks after it began. The Texas Education Agency denied the partnership\u2019s SB 1882 benefits in May<\/a>, including what would have been a two-year reprieve from state accountability ratings, ending the district\u2019s latest effort to avoid a takeover.<\/p>\n Education Austin said the district informed the group that Paredes Middle School \u201cwill close following the district\u2019s expectation that the campus will receive its fourth consecutive F accountability rating.\u201d<\/p>\n Paredes is one of two dozen Austin ISD schools on state-mandated improvement plans during the 2025-26 school year because of repeated failing accountability ratings.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know this is difficult news for the Paredes community and an enormous disruption for the educators and staff affected,\u201d said the Education Austin statement. \u201cEducation Austin is working to ensure that every employee affected is treated fairly and with respect throughout the reassignment process.\u201d<\/p>\n The announcement comes less than a year after Austin ISD trustees voted to close 10 schools<\/a> and after Segura said the district would avoid additional closures until completing the redrawing of districtwide boundaries.<\/p>\n That position shifted after district leaders announced in June that the district\u2019s projected deficit had grown to $95 million<\/a>, roughly five times the amount officials projected in June 2025. Trustees ultimately approved about $205 million in budget reductions<\/a> for the 2026-27 school year to avoid a deeper financial crisis. In July, Segura told families<\/a> the district would first redraw boundaries in areas affected by November 2025 school closures before launching into a districtwide boundary review in the spring that could include additional closures.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking this extra time allows us to monitor enrollment trends following recent closures, analyze data from our October enrollment snapshot, and further progress our academic visioning,\u201d Segura\u2019s July statement said. \u201cWe want to ensure that future engagement opportunities take place during the school year when it is most convenient for families to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Education Austin\u2019s statement, Paredes Middle School students will attend Bailey or Mendez middle schools, with Bailey assuming responsibility for Paredes\u2019 state-mandated improvement plan. The district is communicating with staff at Paredes, Bailey and Mendez and plans to reassign Paredes employees to other campuses while honoring existing contracts and stipends, according to the union\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n