Austin ISD trustees are scheduled to vote today on attendance boundary changes that would give General Marshall Middle School its first assigned zone since opening and ease overcrowding at Linder Elementary School. If approved, the changes would take effect for the 2027-28 school year, reshaping which students funnel into each campus for years to come.
General Marshall Middle School opened in 2023 without a traditional attendance zone, according to KXAN Austin. When the campus debuted, students from seven elementary schools were given the option to opt in rather than being assigned outright. Austin ISD has said Marshall cannot accommodate all seven feeder schools long term, and the district wants to establish a permanent attendance pattern for the campus, per district documents cited by KXAN.
Under the proposal headed to the board, Overton, Jordan, Harris and Blanton elementary schools, along with portions of the Andrews and Pecan Springs attendance areas, would feed into Marshall. Norman-Sims Elementary students, meanwhile, would be assigned instead to Kealing Middle School. Currently, students from Andrews, Blanton, Harris, Jordan, Norman-Sims, Overton and Pecan Springs can all opt in to Marshall, according to statesman.com.
Why Marshall and Linder Came First
District officials prioritized Marshall because it lacks an attendance boundary and Linder because it is overcrowded, the Statesman reports. Austin ISD said it would rely on real-time enrollment data, rather than summer estimates, to shape the draft boundary proposals, according to an announcement from austinisd.org. That announcement also described the effort as Phase 1 of a broader realignment, focused specifically on areas at risk of severe overcrowding for 2027-28 and on finally establishing a zone for Marshall.
The district had extended its boundary timeline into two phases, with Phase 2 expected to begin in spring 2027, per the same austinisd.org update. Recommendations for Marshall and Linder were presented at the Oct. 15 Board Information Session, according to a separate district announcement, ahead of the vote scheduled for today.
Enrollment growth at Linder has been dramatic. The elementary school's enrollment climbed from 358 students in 2019 to 604 in 2025, the Statesman notes. Linder is now at risk of campus overcrowding, per the district, despite having recently opened a modernized facility, according to KXAN. Officials say the school lacks available learning spaces within the building, and district documents indicate some rooms have been converted into classroom space from other intended uses.
What Would Change for Linder Families
Austin ISD recommends reassigning part of Linder's attendance area to Travis Heights Elementary School, per KXAN. The area proposed for reassignment is generally located north of East Oltorf Road and west of Willow Creek Drive. Current students affected by the change may remain at Linder through continuation transfers, the station reports, and families may apply for AISD programs or transfer opportunities through the regular enrollment process.
The district has also said sibling transfers will be prioritized and will be granted unless the superintendent declares a campus over capacity before the second registration round opens, according to CBS Austin. The station also reports that certain households currently zoned to Dobie, Kealing, Lamar and Webb middle schools could be rezoned to Marshall under the proposal. Austin ISD projects the realignment would ease enrollment pressure at Lamar, currently at 114% capacity, and Kealing, at 94% capacity, while increasing capacity use at Dobie, Marshall and Webb, per CBS Austin.
Exactly how many students Marshall would ultimately serve remains a point of disagreement across reports. The Statesman states that about 1,095 middle-school-age students live within the zones of the nearby elementary schools, while Marshall has capacity for 800. CBS Austin, however, reports that Marshall has a stated capacity of 915 students, with the latest proposal potentially assigning around 962 students to the campus.
A Campus Built for Growth
General Marshall Middle School sits in Austin's Mueller neighborhood at 4401 Tilley St. and opened its first academic year in 2023-24 with sixth graders enrolled from eight elementary schools, according to Community Impact. The district celebrated the campus's grand opening on Oct. 4, 2023. Marshall was built as part of Austin ISD's 2017 bond program, a $1.05 billion package that modernized 16 campuses across the district, Community Impact reported at the time.
Students entering sixth grade would attend their newly assigned middle school under the new boundaries starting in 2027, per KXAN. District leaders say the Marshall boundary change aims to clarify feeder patterns and prevent future campus overcrowding, while the broader goal across both campuses is to create clearer feeder patterns and address enrollment and space challenges at specific schools.
Reports differ on when the district's more sweeping boundary work will land. The Statesman reports that comprehensive changes would take effect in fall 2028, while CBS Austin reports that broader changes beyond this round would be discussed for the 2028-29 school year. Trustees are set to meet today at the district's central office in Austin, with the meeting streamed online for the public.
