Austin Independent School District Superintendent Matías Segura outlined a draft transformation and consolidation plan on Oct. 24 that would reassign most students from Barrington Elementary to Guerrero Thompson and move others to Woodridge as part of a districtwide effort to meet state accountability requirements and reduce a large number of empty seats.

The proposal, presented at a community meeting, is intended to meet Texas Education Agency (TEA) requirements after Barrington has received consecutive unacceptable accountability ratings. "Nuestra meta, nuestra visión colectiva es de asegurarnos que cada parte de Austin... tenga acceso a a escuelas de vecindario fuertes, vibrantes y con amor," Segura said. He told families the district faces financial and enrollment pressures and that "tenemos más de 20,000 asientos vacíos," which the draft seeks to address by consolidating capacity and aligning feeder patterns.

The plan matters because state rules for campuses with multiple consecutive unacceptable ratings require a transformation plan; the district said failing to act risks state intervention. "Si no actuamos en este momento, vamos a perder tiempo que es precioso," a district official said during the meeting, noting the timeline and deadlines the district must meet to submit plans to TEA.

District staff described key features and the near-term timeline. Christine Horn, a member of district operations staff, said the reassignment pattern would take effect for the 2026–27 school year, with the next school year starting in August 2026. Horn said a web-based map tool is available for families to see how proposed boundary changes would apply to their addresses. District leaders said they expect the board to discuss a revised draft at a Nov. 6 workshop and hold a final board vote Nov. 20.

The presentation explains the drivers the district considered: state accountability ratings, existing empty seats in the area, the sequence of bond-funded construction and modernizations, and attempts to create clearer feeder patterns so middle schools feed no more than two high schools. Segura said the draft aims to reduce unusually fragmented feeder patterns that currently send students from a single middle school to four or five different high schools.

District staff described how a campus transformation would be implemented if the board approves the plan. The district intends to select combined-school principals in December; those principals would have authority to hire staff for the combined campuses. Parents were told hiring freezes and recruitment timelines would begin in January, with active recruitment and staffing through spring and into April. The district said it intends to prioritize current staff for open positions and to hold job fairs for teachers and support staff.

Special-education services were a central concern for parents. "Los servicios de educación especial van a continuar en este distrito, si usted está recibiendo terapia de habla o terapia ocupacional... continuar recibiendo esos servicios," said Dr. Chery Lee, assistant superintendent for special education. Lee added that in some circumstances a student’s specialized program could be located on a different campus and that staff working at Barrington would be offered positions at receiving campuses.

Parents and staff expressed repeated concerns about speed, fairness and community input. Several speakers said they felt Barrington families had not been heard and worried about the emotional impact on students and teachers. One parent said they did not feel the community had time to respond before decisions were advanced; district leaders acknowledged the sense of urgency but said federal, state and local timelines and accountability rules limit the schedule.

District leaders said savings from consolidations would be reinvested in schools with transformation plans. The superintendent cited an example estimate of roughly $4,000,000 in savings that could be redirected into counseling staff, lower student-to-teacher ratios and intervention specialists at schools undergoing transformation.

What happens next: the district will publish an updated draft (the meeting materials and a map tool are available at the district’s consolidation web page), accept further public input through Oct. 28 on the open comment form, present a revised version to the board Nov. 6, and plans to take a final vote Nov. 20. If the TEA approves the plan when the district submits its transformation plan, the district will implement the staffing and student assignment timeline described to families.

The meeting included multiple community questions about long-term uses for vacated properties, the fate of portable classrooms and the role of the 2022 bond-funded projects in sequencing construction and moves. District staff said future uses of vacated school property will be considered with community input and the board, and cited existing partnerships (for example, with United Way at other sites) as precedents for alternative uses.

The district emphasized that no final change is effective until the board votes and, if required, TEA accepts the transformation plan. Community members were urged to review the draft materials online and attend upcoming board workshop and hearing dates.