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(as of Oct. 11th, 2025, 4PM):
1,229 Signatures
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A petition to the trustees of the Austin Independent School District.
As parent and community advocates, we recognize that AISD currently faces significant challenges, but the administration’s school closures plan risks making things worse. Austinites are not afraid of hard choices or shared sacrifice, but we expect evidence-based decisions that will improve student outcomes and fix AISD’s financial problem long term.
AISD is rushing an unfinished school closures proposal that will reshape Austin for generations—all within an artificially short, one-month window. We request a more thoughtful process built on community engagement, centered on academics, and financially transparent. Austin families have confidence in this board of trustees, and we ask to be collaborators in a plan that solves the tough issues facing AISD.
We urge our trustees to ensure AISD commits to these 5 Reasonable Steps:
Step 1. Slow Down
— Use one year, not one month, to refine the plan with genuine community engagement.
— Immediately sell campuses closed in 2019 (Brook ES & Metz ES, est. revenue +$15 million) to fund a stopgap, one-year budget.
Step 2. Fix Academics First
— The district must prioritize its turnaround campuses for 2026–27.
— Center academic improvement district-wide with established academic baselines and improvement timelines.
Step 3. Present All Available Financial Options Transparently
— Present additional scenarios for further reducing costs across the district and minimizing school closures.
— Publish an report regarding all considered avenues for monetizing district-owned assets, including a list of underutilized district-owned land.
— Provide a financial analysis of the 2019 AISD school closures.
Step 4. Collaborate with the Community
— Establish a citizen advisory committee to guide the process over the next year.
— Meet with impacted school communities to address unresolved details in the current plan.
Step 5. Implement a Growth Plan
— Stabilize enrollment by creating a plan to win back students from charters and potential voucher programs.