Austin Independent School District parents will soon be able to better maneuver the district’s many academic programming options for their children. Monday, AISD staff announced that a programming database will soon be released, ideally sometime this school year, although the exact date has not yet been determined. The database was compiled after AISD’s board of […]
Courtney Griffin
Posted inAISD
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 to discuss potential bond efforts that would be used for the district’s current and future […]
Posted inAISD
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 “desegregating” AISD schools, improving the quality of teaching at failing schools and utilizing hard data […]
Posted inWhispers
AISD lowers tax rate, again
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees on Monday unanimously approved the district’s new tax rate for the 2016 tax year. AISD’s tax bill is broken into two parts: Maintenance and Operations covers operating costs like salaries, benefits and utility bills; Interest and Sinking covers interest on bond debt for facilities. Trustees approved a […]
Posted inBudget
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 costs. Houser, who retired after Monday’s regular meeting, told AISD trustees that staff reviewed employee […]
Posted inWhispers
AISD gives HUB program final approval
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees unanimously gave its new Historically Underutilized Businesses program and formalized policy the green light at Monday’s regular meeting. Past and present AISD trustees applauded the passage of the program, an effort that began in 2013 with the approval of a joint disparity study with the city and […]
Posted inAISD
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 should improve the district’s provision of special education services. According to the latest detailed Texas […]
Posted inWhispers
Eight AISD schools fail to meet state standards
Eight schools within the Austin Independent School District failed to meet state standards for the 2015-2016 school year. The list includes two high schools (credit-recovery Graduation Preparatory Academy at Lanier and the International High School), four middle schools (Burnet, Dobie, Mendez and Gus Garcia Young Men’s Leadership Academy) and two elementary schools (Pickle and Norman). […]
Posted inAISD
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 showed trustees to be largely in agreement about the program’s details. While AISD has long […]
Posted inMusic & Entertainment
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 to Austin’s smoking ban was expected to come before City Council in late 2016, according […]
Posted inAISD
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 considered, yet board members continued to call out the state’s public education system for its […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Planning Commission and AISD back charter school code change
Last week, City Hall was filled with people hoping to speak to the Planning Commission about proposed changes to how charter schools are built. And, though there are still details to be worked out, those amendments will be moving on to City Council. Both the Planning Commission and the Austin Independent School District Board of […]