Stories by Becky Fogel, KUT
Austin ISD school board approves protections for construction workers ahead of bond election
The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees has signed off on a resolution to improve labor standards for any construction projects on district property. The board approved the measure at a meeting Thursday. The trustees passed the measure ahead of the…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Oct 3, 2022
Austin ISD is considering turning two properties into teacher and staff housing
Austin ISD is considering turning two of its properties into housing that teachers and other staff could afford as rising housing costs make it harder to retain and recruit employees. District officials have been holding public meetings on proposals for…
Housing • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Sep 21, 2022
Austin ISD is trying to fill more than 150 teacher vacancies days into the new school year
Lee esta historia en español The Austin Independent School District is continuing to recruit and hire teachers days into the new school year that began Monday. Austin ISD started the summer with more than 1,000 teacher vacancies, the highest number…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 23, 2022
Austin ISD earns a 'B' rating from Texas Education Agency
Austin Independent School District earned an overall grade of “B” from the Texas Education Agency’s school accountability system, which is based in part on standardized testing scores. TEA issued the grades on Monday for the first time since before the Covid-19…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 17, 2022
'I’m pretty speechless': Austin ISD school board unanimously approves equity-focused bond
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Thursday to put a $2.44 billion bond on the November ballot. It is the largest bond package in AISD history, but district officials and school board members say what makes the…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 15, 2022
Austin ISD wants teacher housing in the 2022 bond, but some educators are skeptical of the plan
Lee esta historia en español The Austin Independent School District is gathering feedback on a proposal to include funding for teacher housing in the potential 2022 bond package. While bond dollars cannot be used for salaries, the money can be…
Bonds & Propositions • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 4, 2022
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ACC nearly doubles its spending on compensation in response to rising cost of living
Lee esta historia en español The Austin Community College Board of Trustees unanimously approved a budget for Fiscal Year 2023 on Monday that includes nearly $21 million for compensation, which is almost double what the college spent last year. “Last year was,…
Budget • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 3, 2022
Austin ISD approves $1.9 billion budget – but nearly half of that money will go to the state
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted 7-2 early Friday to adopt a nearly $1.9 billion budget for the upcoming academic year. School board president Geronimo Rodriguez Jr. noted it was the first balanced budget trustees have passed since 2017. Austin…
Budget • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jun 24, 2022
Potential Austin ISD bond proposal could include funding to help teachers with housing
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees will decide later this summer whether to include a bond package on the ballot in November. A bond allows the school district to borrow money to cover the cost of capital expenditures, such as…
Bonds & Propositions • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jun 21, 2022
Austin ISD school board selects Anthony Mays for interim superintendent
Lee esta historia in español. The Austin ISD Board of Trustees has chosen Anthony Mays, the district’s chief of schools since October 2020, to be interim superintendent. He makes history as the first Black man to serve as AISD superintendent.…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jun 15, 2022
Environmental group sues federal government over endangered Central Texas salamanders
An environmental advocacy group has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming federal officials are failing to protect threatened species of salamanders in Central Texas. The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity argues the federal agency has…
