Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is urging local families to petition Texas state education officials to shutter two chronically underperforming middle schools, presenting campus closures as a necessary alternative to avoid an overarching state takeover of the Austin Independent School District.
In a message distributed through his "Watson Wire" newsletter, Watson called upon community members and parents of students attending Burnet and Webb middle schools to mobilize. Rather than allowing the Texas Education Agency to seize governance of the entire school system, Watson argued that families should request targeted campus closures alongside the creation of a brand-new middle school facility in North Austin.
The threat of state intervention arises from a 2015 Texas statute that imposes strict penalties on school districts containing persistently failing campuses. Under the law, when an individual campus registers five consecutive years of unacceptable academic ratings, the state education commissioner is mandated to execute one of two severe measures: either order the immediate closure of the struggling schools or replace the locally elected board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers.
The current crisis was initiated when both Burnet Middle School and Webb Middle School logged their fifth consecutive failing marks in the 2026 state accountability ratings. Neither campus has managed to satisfy state academic standards since 2018.
In the most recent evaluations, Webb Middle School registered an accountability score of 58 out of 100, while Burnet Middle School recorded a score of 59 out of 100. Both institutions narrowly missed reaching the 60-point threshold, a benchmark that would have granted the campuses a temporary "pause" year to enact academic interventions and elevate student performance without immediately triggering state sanctions.
Despite the persistent difficulties at these two North Austin campuses, Watson emphasized that the broader school district has demonstrated significant overall improvement. Across Austin ISD, academic performance rose to a B rating with an overall score of 81 on the state's letter-grade system this year, reflecting measurable progress compared to the district's C rating and score of 79 during the prior year.
Watson maintained that stripping power from the locally elected school board and initiating a full-scale district takeover would represent an excessive and unwarranted step. In his newsletter, he described a takeover as an extraordinary intervention, questioning why the state would disrupt districtwide gains rather than applying a focused remedy specifically tailored to the two campuses that triggered the statute.
To avert a state takeover, Watson directed parents toward a specific provision within Texas education law that affords families direct input in the intervention process. Under this legal mechanism, if a majority of parents with children enrolled at an affected campus sign a formal petition, they can explicitly ask Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to shutter the school rather than dismantle the district's elected leadership.
The exact binding nature of such petitions remains somewhat ambiguous. While state law indicates that the education commissioner may act in accordance with the parents' official preferences, the Texas Education Agency did not immediately offer clarification on whether an approved petition legally mandates the commissioner to follow the parents' request.
Under Watson’s vision, closing the physical campuses would not mean abandoning the student body. Instead, the mayor proposed establishing a newly organized school in North Austin that would maintain community continuity and prevent students from being dispersed haphazardly among other middle schools throughout the district.
Specifically, Watson pointed to the Burnet campus as an ideal site for this new educational model. The property is presently undergoing a comprehensive $158 million modernization project, which is financed through Austin ISD’s broader $2.4 billion bond program approved by voters in 2022.
Watson expressed strong confidence in Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura, stating that the district leader possesses the vision required to craft an ambitious academic plan. Watson noted that he trusts Segura, operating alongside the district's elected trustees, to establish an innovative educational program within the updated facility while keeping the existing school communities intact.
Historical precedent exists for communities using parental petitions to navigate state accountability mandates. In 2019, Snyder ISD faced the prospect of a state takeover after Snyder Junior High accumulated five consecutive failing grades.
In that instance, a majority of parents at Snyder Junior High successfully submitted a petition requesting the closure of the campus. Following that petition, Commissioner Morath confirmed in a January 2020 letter that he would shutter the junior high and assign an external conservator to oversee district operations, thereby preserving the authority of the elected school board rather than ousting local leadership.
Austin ISD administrators did not immediately issue a formal response regarding Watson’s proposal or the district's prospective strategy for addressing the looming state accountability decisions.
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