By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com

The biannual University Interscholastic League redistricting is set to take place in less than a month. The UIL will release new district alignments for the 2024-26 school years on Feb. 1.

On the Sidelines Sports begins a weekly series leading up to the big day by looking at what redistricting may look like for the Austin area.

There is no crystal ball to foresee the future, so no one really knows for sure what’s the UIL is going to do until Feb. 1. However, On the Sidelines Sports has thoroughly evaluated the classification cutoff numbers and enrollments from snapshot day, and here’s what we came up with.

There are 18 class 6A schools in the Greater Austin Metro Area, which is down from 20 during the last redistricting in 2022.

Both Weiss and Anderson will drop to Class 5A, and that will cause a major shift in how redistricting shapes up for 6A schools in the area.  

To make our projections, we took into account two common factors.

First, all five Round Rock ISD schools (Round Rock, Westwood, McNeil, Cedar Ridge and Stony Point) will stay in the same district, per UIL protocol. The UIL rarely breaks up schools in the same ISD.

Secondly, the Austin ISD schools, along with Westlake, Del Valle and Lake Travis have traditionally been in the same district since Del Valle moved up to 6A in .2014.

After considering those two factors, the trick is filling in the blanks. However, Del Valle may end up being the exception.

One big change to look out for is Hutto. The Hippos have competed in District 12-6A the past two years along with Weiss, Waco Midway, Temple, Bryan, Harker Heights and Copperas Cove.

With Weiss dropping to Class 5A, it’s almost a foregone conclusion Hutto will be placed in a district with the Round Rock schools. There is a small chance this district moves into a new region, although it’s very unlikely.

The wild cards left are Manor, Del Valle, the Leander ISD schools (Vandegrift and Vista Ridge), Buda Johnson and San Marcos.

There are two scenarios with those six schools, and one centers around how the UIL splits the Austin area. Does it go east-west or north-south? Traditionally, the UIL splits the Austin area by north/south; however, Austin’s s growth in the east may change this.

The other scenario depends on what happens to District 27-5A, which currently is home to San Marcos.

With Hutto, Del Valle and Manor being separated by 29 miles along the fast-growing SH 130 area, there might be a whole new landscape on the horizon for Austin area 6A sports. 

Here are the On the Sidelines Sports projections for Class 6A districts involving the 18 schools in the Austin area:

District 12-6A

Current: Bryan, Midway, Temple, Copperas Cove, Harker Heights, Hutto, Weiss

On the move: Weiss (6A to 5A); Killeen and Killeen Shoemaker (5A to 6A)

Why we think it will happen: With Weiss dropping down, and Killeen and Shoemaker moving up, It would make no sense geographically to keep Hutto in this district and leapfrog a natural fit with the Round Rock schools. It’s almost a guarantee that the Kangaroos and Grey Wolves replace Hutto and Weiss in this seven-team district.

District 25-6A

Current: Westwood, Round Rock, McNeil, Stony Point, Cedar Ridge, Vista Ridge, Manor, Vandegrift

On the move: None

Why we think it will happen: The reason for this projection lies with what happens south of Austin (keep reading). It’s very possible that the UIL splits Austin down the I-35 corridor by east/west rather than the traditional north/south split. If that happens, the five Round Rock ISD schools would go here along with Hutto and Manor. I think Del Valle joins them due to the geographical split since the towns of Del Valle, Hutto and Manor are separated by 29 miles along SH 130.

District 26-6A

Current: Westlake, Bowie, Akins, Anderson, Austin High, Lake Travis, Dripping Springs, Buda Johnson, Del Valle

On the move: Anderson (6A to 5A)

Why we think it will happen: This will be another Austin district that is impacted by what happens south of SH 45. With Anderson dropping down, logic says this district will stay intact as an eight-team district, with Buda Johnson and Del Valle. Not so fast, my friends. … Buda Johnson likely will move south to join San Marcos in 27-6A, and why that’s likely will become evident shortly. That would leave six teams, should Del Valle join 25-6A. What better way to fill out this district than to slide in Leander ISD schools Vandegrift and Vista Ridge into a west IH-35 district. It has happened before.

District 27-6A

Current: Cibolo Steele, Converse Judson, New Braunfels, East Central, San Marcos, Schertz Clemens

On the move: New Braunfels (6A to 5A), New Braunfels Canyon (5A to 6A).

Why we think it will happen: The only big change is that New Braunfels and New Braunfels Canyon are swapping places in classifications. But this six-team district may also lose East Central, which is further south than any school in the district. With San Antonio Jay dropping from 6A to 5A, East Central may go west. That would make Buda Johnson’s inclusion into this district all the more likely. Even if East Central stays, Johnson’s move south is still possible to make this a seven-team district.