Austin ISD has hit pause on a final call about the future of two East Austin elementary schools, Blackshear and Oak Springs, after a packed community meeting and a rush of survey responses. Families and teachers filled the room Tuesday night looking for straight answers about where students will land next school year, and district leaders said they need more time to sift through public feedback. For now, both campuses and the neighborhoods around them are stuck waiting.
District officials told the crowd they have received nearly 350 survey responses from Blackshear and Oak Springs families and nearby residents, feedback they say will guide whatever comes next, as reported by KEYE. Both campuses are small, with enrollments of about 200 students apiece, a key detail district leaders point to when arguing that consolidation could fill empty seats and cut costs, according to Community Impact.
What's in the proposal
Under the current Austin ISD proposal, Oak Springs students would move to the Blackshear campus while a new Oak Springs building is constructed. Once that building is finished, students from both schools will move again, this time to the modernized Oak Springs site. The shuffle is part of a broader consolidation effort meant to shrink the number of empty seats and save money, and the Oak Springs modernization carries a price tag of about $47.6 million, funded by the voter-approved 2022 bond, as reported by KUT.
Parents press to preserve a legacy
Many residents say they want Blackshear protected because of its deep East Austin roots, and speakers at the meeting pressed the district to respect the school’s role in the community. A letter read aloud called the campus “more than 135 years of community legacy,” and parents warned that asking children to move twice in roughly two years would disrupt learning and strip away programs, per KEYE. The Blackshear campus notes its 135th anniversary on the district site and highlights its fine arts programs and neighborhood partnerships, according to Austin ISD.
Bond money and local frustration
Opponents of the consolidation have zeroed in on reporting that Austin ISD has already spent or committed millions in bond money on projects, including Oak Springs, that are now caught up in the closure debate, a detail that has intensified neighborhood frustration, according to The Texas Tribune. Parents and Blackshear advocates also argue that the new Oak Springs design may not be able to house Blackshear’s existing fine arts offerings, a concern that has surfaced repeatedly at community meetings and was reported by Community Impact.
What's next
Austin ISD says it will keep weighing public feedback as it decides where students will ultimately attend. The district has posted draft plans and feedback forms for Oak Springs as part of its turnaround and consolidation process, according to Austin ISD. No final decision date has been set, and district leaders say they are still reviewing survey responses and community input before settling on a plan.
