Overview
- Austin ISD announced Wednesday that it will close Paredes Middle School before the 2026–27 year after district leaders concluded the campus is expected to receive a fourth consecutive F in state accountability ratings.
- Students from Paredes will be rezoned to Bailey or Mendez middle schools and Bailey will take over Paredes’ state-mandated improvement plan.
- The district told staff it will reassign Paredes employees across Austin ISD and honor existing contracts and stipends, and officials said there will be no layoffs tied to this consolidation.
- Leaders said the closure follows a sharp deterioration in the district’s finances and a reversal of an earlier pledge to pause further school shutdowns after trustees approved major budget cuts this summer.
- Austin ISD had pursued an SB 1882 partnership to delay accountability consequences but the TEA denied its benefits and the partnership ended, and final August campus A–F ratings could still trigger state action if any school reaches five straight F ratings.