Stories by Courtney Griffin
AISD enrollment expected to decline at slower rate
In the first meeting of 2017, Austin Independent School District staff presented mixed news to the board of trustees in its annual demographic report. This report is used to predict 10-year student enrollment trends within the district based on housing…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Jan 9, 2017
Pool wins District 7
Tuesday night, incumbent Leslie Pool easily won her District 7 seat for City Council against challenger and political newcomer Natalie Gauldin. Early voting results Tuesday evening solidly placed her in the lead by 40 percent, giving rise to dinnertime cheers…
City Council • By Courtney Griffin • Nov 9, 2016
AISD greenlights new scorecard
At Monday’s regular board meeting, Austin Independent School District trustees unanimously approved the new district scorecard, a steering document that will be used to evaluate Superintendent Paul Cruz’s performance in the future. The scorecard uses new initiatives to promote the desegregation…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Oct 26, 2016
Seven residents vie for AISD seats
Today marks the first day of early voting, and the Austin Independent School District board of trustees has five seats up for grabs, with seven residents vying for spots. However, only two seats are being contested. Cindy Anderson and David…
Elections • By Courtney Griffin • Oct 24, 2016
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AISD backs off city amendment, for now
A potential disagreement between the city and Austin Independent School District board of trustees and staff was put on hold at the AISD board’s regular Monday meeting last week, when a motion to send a letter of opposition to City…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Oct 3, 2016
AISD postpones potential bond
On Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees decided to pump the brakes on future bonding efforts for district schools for another year. At the board’s workshop meeting, trustees met with the Facilities and Bond Planning Advisory Committee…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Sep 22, 2016
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AISD drafts district scorecard
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees spent Monday night hammering out what success will look like for the district at the conclusion of the 2016-2017 school year. Preliminary talks focused on the potential use of new approaches to…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Sep 16, 2016
AISD employees see insurance hikes
The final board of trustees meeting attended by Austin Independent School District’s Chief Human Capital Officer Michael Houser brought hard news: Some AISD employees could see a significant portion of their newly approved raises go toward paying increasing health care…
Budget • By Courtney Griffin • Aug 31, 2016
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AISD has high hopes for restructured Special Ed Department
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees received an update at last week’s meeting on the recent restructuring of the Special Education Department. Board members heard from the new executive director of special education, Jean Bahney, about initiatives that…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Aug 22, 2016
AISD HUB policy gets final vetting
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees took a final look this week at the district’s proposed new historically underutilized business program, which is tentatively set to be implemented in mid-November. Contrary to past meetings, the Monday workshop meeting…
AISD • By Courtney Griffin • Aug 19, 2016
Smoking ban gets fogged at Music Commission
A preliminary proposal to ban smoking on all patios in Austin was met with pushback and prompt backpedaling at a meeting of the Music Commission on Monday. Proposed by Central Health, a taxpayer-funded district in Travis County, a potential amendment…
Music & Entertainment • By Courtney Griffin • Aug 2, 2016
AISD approves $1.3 billion budget
Trustees with the Austin Independent School District approved a $1.3 billion operating budget for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year in an 8-0-1 vote Monday night, with District 1 Trustee Edmund Gordon abstaining. It is the largest budget AISD has ever…
