Austin ISD plans to close Blackshear Elementary and shift students to Oak Springs by 2028

Campus consolidation plan sets two-step move for East Austin elementary students

Austin Independent School District is moving toward a two-stage consolidation that would ultimately close Blackshear Elementary School and relocate its students and staff community into a modernized Oak Springs Elementary campus in 2028, based on district planning documents and ongoing administrative decision-making tied to the district’s broader school-closure initiative.

The timeline under discussion follows a transition already built into the district’s consolidation framework: Oak Springs students are set to be reassigned to Blackshear for the 2026–27 school year, with the long-term intent that the combined school community would later operate out of a rebuilt or fully modernized Oak Springs facility once construction is completed.

How the plan evolved, and what is already scheduled

In November 2025, the school board approved a districtwide consolidation and reassignment plan that includes the closure of 10 campuses ahead of the 2026–27 school year. Within that approved package, Oak Springs was listed for closure and its students were reassigned to Blackshear beginning in 2026–27. At that time, the district left open the longer-term question of which East Austin campus would ultimately remain in service once Oak Springs’ bond-funded construction work is completed.

Subsequent district communications to families described the reassignment of Oak Springs students to Blackshear as the near-term step while acknowledging that a later move could follow. Under the scenario now taking shape, that later move would place the merged student population at Oak Springs and result in the closure of Blackshear in 2028.

Construction, cost pressures, and capacity planning

The Oak Springs modernization project is tied to the district’s 2022 bond program. District project schedules have pointed to a 2028 completion window for Oak Springs, and local reporting has described construction activity as paused while the district determines the long-term campus configuration for the merged community.

The consolidation initiative has been framed by district leadership as part of a strategy to address persistent under-enrollment, rising operational costs, and a structural budget gap. The district’s approved closure plan also aligns with a separate set of state-mandated campus turnaround requirements affecting multiple schools, which has added urgency to reassignment logistics and academic program continuity.

What families should expect next

• 2026–27 school year: Oak Springs students reassigned to attend Blackshear as the receiving campus.

• 2027–28 through 2028: transition planning for the consolidated community, contingent on construction milestones and final administrative determinations.

• 2028: opening of the modernized Oak Springs facility under current projections, with the merged community expected to operate there and Blackshear slated for closure under the scenario described in district planning.

The district’s East Austin consolidation has been characterized by families as unusually disruptive because it can require students to change campuses more than once within a short span—first for reassignment, then again when construction is completed.

Austin ISD’s next public milestones are expected to include updated transition guidance for families, staffing and program assignments for the receiving campus in 2026–27, and a clearer timeline for the Oak Springs construction path that would determine whether the 2028 closure of Blackshear proceeds as planned.