From its 10-year high enrollment of 2,793 in 2021 to this year’s snap shot enrollment number in Oct. of 2,317, Akins High School’s enrollment has dropped more than 8.5% over the last 5 years.
And while Austin ISD School Board voted on Nov. 21 to finalize the closure of Bedichek Middle School, the fate of Akins High School’s attendance zone remains in limbo, leaving Akins’ future enrollment numbers pending.
The board moved forward with school closures set for Aug. 2026 but paused the controversial rezoning plan that proposed moving portions of the Akins attendance zone to Travis and Crockett High School’s
For a campus that has long operated at over 120% capacity, the pause offers a temporary overcrowding relief for Akins, but the looming threat of declining enrollment poses a new challenge: the potential loss of funding for the popular CTE and Fine Arts programs.
The proposed scenarios, released earlier this year, suggested shifting students from Akins’ northern boundary to Crockett and eastern boundary to Travis. While the vote on these specific lines has been delayed until the Fall of 2026, the district’s intent is clear: they aim to “right-size” enrollment across south Austin.
According to district data, Akins has been “over-enrolled as a campus for years,” relying on a sprawling set of portable buildings to house its student body.
Interim Principal Carman DeLeon sees the potential reduction in students not as a loss, but as an opportunity to return learning to the main building.
“I think that the pros are that the aim will be to adjust enrollment numbers for our space,” DeLeon said. “It will be nice to have classes in the main building and not out in the portables.”
DeLeon said she was optimistic about the changes awaiting the campus next school year.
“We are a resilient community and will adapt to any changes that occur,” she said.
For teachers, the prospect of lower enrollment brings mixed emotions: concern for the school’s future, but relief for daily classroom management. Social Studies teacher Adam Gorell describes his current situation where class sizes have become “unmanageable.”
“I routinely have a full roster with no empty desks available, and on at least three occasions have had 40 students assigned to my class when I only have 36 desks,” Gorell said.
He said that overcrowding has even affected dual-credit courses like OnRamps, which have a recommended cap of 25 students.
“While I sympathize with any student that will have to change schools, the fact remains that smaller class sizes have a direct correlation to increased academic success for students,” Gorell added.
However, Gorell also highlighted the deteriorating condition of the portables that currently house a significant portion of the staff. He cited issues ranging from “holes in the floors and ceilings” to broken AC units.
“I have spent my own time and money to improve my classroom… including purchasing a portable AC when mine went out,” Gorell said. “I understand that the plan is to eventually move teachers out of the portables… but with the amount of staff that we have, there are not enough rooms to currently go around.”
While reducing overcrowding might solve space issues, it creates a new problem for Akins’ unique Academy-based structure. CTE programs rely on robust enrollment numbers to justify their funding and staffing. Recently, campus administrators announced the closure of the New Tech Academy and the loss of Audio/Video and Commercial Photography programs and that some other New Tech programs would be moving to other academies.
CTE department chair Jennifer Segura expressed concern for students who are “looking for a specific pathway that may not be offered at another school.”
In an online survey conducted by The Eagle’s Eye, students expressed fear that redrawing boundaries would cut them off from the specialized programs that drew them to Akins in the first place.
If enrollment drops too steeply, Akins risks losing the “critical mass” of students needed to offer niche electives and advanced CTE certifications.
The district plans to bring a revised zoning plan to the School Board for a vote in the fall, giving the Akins community a few more months to advocate for their programs.
“The con is that with any change there is adjustment,” DeLeon said. “This personally affects our families and communities.”
