Austin ISD superintendent outlines enrollment push, says most TAP submissions accepted by TEA

Superintendent Miguel Segura on Thursday told the Austin ISD Board of Trustees the district will launch a sustained, organization-wide effort to boost enrollment, retain families and improve communications.

Segura said the draft plan centers on recruitment, retention and re-engagement, names Victoria O'Neil as executive director of campus and family engagement to lead the effort, and sets short-term milestones including general enrollment work beginning Feb. 16 and pre-K eligibility assessments starting April 1. "We want to ensure that every family should have access to an excellent neighborhood school," Segura said.

The plan calls for a steering committee, dedicated campus teams and a series of enrollment events and campus tours. O'Neil told trustees the minimum expectation for in-person enrollment events is four and described a scheduled mix of tours across January–May to create a consistent invitation for families.

Trustees asked for clearer, verifiable data. Trustee Kaufman and others pressed administration to publish the exact enrollment figures used for budgeting and to clarify apparent inconsistencies between posted slides and the total shown in BoardDocs. Joshua Prokadik and Principal Miranda said the presentation reflects the latest numbers from the district’s student information system, Frontline, and staff agreed to correct or re-upload any inaccurate BoardDocs slides.

Segura also reported the district’s turnaround assistance plan submissions (TAPs) had been accepted by the Texas Education Agency except for two campuses — identified in the presentation as Woodane and Wynne Montessori — which TEA asked to see additional budget-to-plan detail before final approval. "They asked for a more granular tie between dollars and the interventions," Segura said; staff said they expect to provide that detail soon.

Parents and community members who testified raised related concerns: callers from Maplewood and other campuses asked for faster principal hiring, clearer staffing plans for schools given pending consolidations, and more transparent responses to survey results on campus modernizations.

What’s next: staff said they will post a refined draft enrollment plan for public feedback, continue building the focus committees, and provide trustees with updated enrollment data and any adjustments to dual-language student placement efforts.