Webb Middle School's PTA has filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency, asking the state to investigate how a petition seeking to close Webb and nearby Burnet Middle School was collected from parents. The PTA says some families felt pressured to sign, didn't understand what they were signing, or raised concerns that personal information may have been shared without their authorization.
The Texas Education Agency confirmed Monday that it had received the complaint, according to Austin Current, and said its review remains ongoing as officials determine whether further steps are necessary. The petition itself asked Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath to close both Webb and Burnet middle schools as a way to help Austin ISD avoid a districtwide state takeover, according to reporting from the Austin American-Statesman. Both campuses triggered the state's intervention law after racking up a fifth consecutive failing academic accountability rating for the 2025-26 school year, though Austin ISD has appealed both ratings and final results aren't expected until December, per CBS Austin.
What the Webb PTA Is Alleging
Webb PTA President Vanessa Gámez and communications representative Valeria Gonzales signed the complaint letter, which the Statesman reports was submitted over the weekend. The letter alleges that possible irregularities, deception, and outside involvement may have compromised the petition's legitimacy, and it questions where the petition originated and whether people outside the school community helped promote it. It also asks the state not to treat outsiders' actions as reflecting the wishes of the Webb school community, and demands a thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation.
Gámez has raised concerns that parents did not know what they were signing and has said she believes families are being pressured to save the district at their community's expense. She has opposed the petition process itself, arguing it would perpetuate historic inequities, though she has not said she supports a state takeover as the alternative. Gámez and Gonzales did not respond to requests for further comment, and Austin ISD did not respond to a request for comment either, the Statesman reports.
Who Collected the Signatures
The Austin Council of PTAs says it spread information about the petition process in recent weeks and that its volunteers collected signatures only after Burnet and Webb's own PTA membership bodies voted to request the help. Council president Crystal Brothwell-Hernandez has described the group's role as purely informational, saying it provided signatories information in English and Spanish about the state's intervention process and that informing people allowed them to decide for themselves. She said the council acted only at the request of school communities. Community volunteers reportedly canvassed neighborhoods around the middle schools and approached parents at pickup and drop-off in the two days before the petition deadline.
Texas law allows families at chronically struggling campuses to petition for closure instead of a full takeover, which would otherwise replace the elected school board with state appointees and often swap out the superintendent for a state appointee as well. According to guidance from the Texas Education Agency, if a valid petition asks the commissioner to order a campus closed or a board of managers appointed, the commissioner is required to order the action requested in the petition.
Signature Thresholds and the December Deadline
Per Austin Current's reporting, petitions must carry signatures from parents representing more than half of each campus's enrollment, with an April district-data calculation putting that threshold at 502 students for Webb and 829 for Burnet. Webb has more than 400 students and Burnet has roughly 700, according to the Statesman. As of Oct. 8, Brothwell-Hernandez indicated that about 6% of Burnet families and 2% of Webb families had signed.
Austin ISD must verify the signatures against state requirements using campus enrollment counts from the statewide snapshot date of Oct. 30, then submit its results to TEA by Dec. 1, according to CBS Austin's coverage of the deadline. More than 70% of families at Webb and Burnet speak a language other than English at home, KUT reports, a factor that CBS Austin's reporting ties to hesitancy among some parents navigating the closure petition in a language barrier.
District Leaders and Union Reaction
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson floated the idea of a parent petition for school closures in September and praised the petition results the week before Austin Current's October report, saying the petition gives parents and children a say in their future, according to the outlet's account. Ken Zarifis, president of Education Austin — the district's largest educator union — and a parent of a Burnet Middle School student, has framed the petition as a way for parents to have a voice amid an impending takeover, per the same Austin Current reporting.
Austin ISD reported that its share of A- and B-rated campuses rose 42% over the past two years while D- and F-rated campuses fell 35%, according to KUT. Austin Current has also reported that two dozen Austin schools had repeated failing accountability ratings.
How Past Petitions Have Played Out
Austin ISD's situation is not without precedent. In 2019, parents in Snyder ISD used a similar parent petition to seek closure of Snyder Junior High rather than accept a state takeover, according to Austin Current's reporting. Commissioner Morath ultimately ordered that school closed and appointed a conservator to monitor the district. Past TEA interventions in Houston ISD and Fort Worth ISD, meanwhile, involved replacing elected school board members with a state-appointed board of managers, CBS Austin notes.
For now, the outcome at Webb and Burnet remains unresolved. TEA says it is still reviewing the Webb PTA's complaint to determine whether further steps are necessary, even as Austin ISD works toward its Dec. 1 deadline to verify whether the petitions meet the state's signature requirements.
