Austin Mayor Kirk Watson is urging families at two chronically underperforming middle schools to petition state education officials to shut down their campuses, framing the move as a necessary measure to shield the broader Austin Independent School District from a full state takeover.
In a plan detailed in his "Watson Wire" community newsletter, the mayor proposed that parents at Burnet and Webb middle schools formally request that Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath close both facilities. Rather than allowing the state to seize governance of the entire school system, Watson advocated replacing the struggling campuses with a newly established school in North Austin.
The threat of state intervention arises from the 2026 state accountability ratings, in which both Burnet and Webb middle schools received their fifth consecutive failing marks. Under a 2015 Texas law, five consecutive years of failing ratings require the education commissioner to execute one of two mandatory sanctions: either permanently close the failing campuses or strip local control from the district by replacing its elected board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers.
Academic records show that neither Burnet nor Webb has met state education standards since 2018. In the most recent evaluation cycle, Webb scored a 58 out of 100, while Burnet earned a 59 out of 100. Both schools fell just short of the 60-point benchmark, a threshold that would have granted the campuses a temporary "pause" year to execute turnaround efforts and elevate their performance.
Watson argued forcefully against a state takeover, describing such action as an extraordinary intervention that is entirely unjustified given the broader district's recent academic gains. Austin ISD improved its overall districtwide rating this year to an 81, which translates to a B grade, rising from the 79, or C rating, that the district earned during the previous year.
In his newsletter, Watson emphasized that sweeping state control would threaten to derail the district's hard-won momentum. He asked whether a more targeted intervention could directly resolve the issues at the two triggering campuses while preserving and accelerating the steady progress taking place across the rest of Austin ISD.
To achieve this targeted approach, the mayor pointed to a specific provision in Texas education law that grants parents the legal authority to appeal directly to the state commissioner. Under this statutory mechanism, if a majority of parents at a failing campus sign and submit a formal petition, they can explicitly ask Morath to close the facility rather than unseat the district's elected trustees.
While the law outlines this petition route, questions remain regarding how much latitude state officials retain in their final determination. The Texas Education Agency did not immediately respond to requests seeking clarification on whether such a parent petition legally obligates the commissioner to follow the families' specific recommendation.
Historical precedent demonstrates that parent petitions have previously succeeded in halting state takeovers in other Texas communities. When Snyder ISD faced the prospect of a state takeover in 2019 due to chronic academic deficiencies at Snyder Junior High—which had logged five straight failing ratings—a majority of parents at the campus submitted a formal petition asking Morath to shutter the school instead of ousting the school board.
In response to that 2019 petition, Morath issued a letter to Snyder ISD in January 2020 confirming that he would respect the parents' request. The commissioner closed Snyder Junior High and appointed a state conservator to oversee district decisions, thereby allowing the locally elected school board to remain in office.
Looking forward for Austin ISD, Watson envisioned a path where students currently attending Burnet and Webb could transition together into a modernized learning environment. He suggested utilizing the Burnet campus site, which is currently receiving $158 million in capital improvements and renovations funded through the district's voter-approved $2.4 billion bond package passed in 2022.
The mayor expressed strong confidence in Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura, stating that the district leader's track record demonstrates an ability to craft an ambitious educational strategy without scattering students across various existing middle schools. Watson noted that he trusts Segura, operating alongside the elected school board, to build a new school inside a brand-new facility that keeps the existing school communities intact.
Austin ISD did not immediately issue a public comment regarding Watson's proposal. As state accountability consequences loom, the mayor's strategy places the immediate future of the district's governance largely in the hands of the parents at the two North Austin campuses.
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