At last week’s Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting, only one trustee voted against the adoption of the list of projects to be included in this year’s bond election: District 1 representative Edmund Gordon. In a sit-down interview with the Austin Monitor, Gordon elaborated on his opposition to the bond package. What it […]
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School board wary of tax rate increase in bond election
Read their lips: no tax increase. With the exception of District 1 Trustee Edmund Gordon, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees was united in its stance against raising the tax rate with the 2017 Bond Package as it voted to adopt the proposed list of projects Monday night. Before staff made its presentation, Superintendent […]
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Eastside Memorial could be on the move
At a hastily called meeting this weekend organized by local education advocates, members of the Eastside Memorial High School community gathered in the cafeteria to discuss an Austin Independent School District bond proposal that would move the school to a new facility on the old Anderson High campus. Two members of the district’s Board of […]
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AISD board calls for budget to be more voter-friendly
A budget can be financially sound and make economic sense, but if it doesn’t make sense to the public, it’s worthless. That’s the point that some Austin Independent School District board trustees tried to drive home to district administration and consultants Monday night. There is plenty of cause for concern. The last school district bond […]
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AISD braces itself for end of legislative session
The Austin Independent School District’s budget has been strained since the city’s rapid growth began in the late 1990s, but this year’s state legislative session has district staff anticipating the worst. Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley Johnson told the AISD Board of Trustees at its May 22 meeting that the best it could hope for […]
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Teacher health care surfaces as key issue in AISD budget conversations
As the Austin Independent School District braces for a tough financial year, even by district standards, staff presented preliminary budget plans to the Board of Trustees at its regular meeting April 24. The rough waters are courtesy of Austin’s growth. Significant increases in the appraisal values of the city’s properties means that the district owes […]
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No special election: AISD Board votes to appoint District 6 rep
In an emotional ceremony Monday night, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees honored outgoing Vice President Paul Saldaña at his last official meeting as a board trustee. His colleagues made personal statements expressing their gratitude for Saldaña’s service and admiration for him as an individual, and AISD students performed musical numbers, giving his […]
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Despite state decriminalizing truancy, Austin students can still get charged for skipping
Lunch time is wrapping up at Austin High School, just west of downtown. As students walk back in the school, Austin Independent School District Police Officer Christopher Roddy walks out. He heads toward the MoPac highway underpass where there are some trails. He patrols this area daily for kids who may be skipping school. “So […]
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AISD trustee reveals reasons behind resignation
In a sit-down interview with the Austin Monitor, Austin Independent School District Trustee Paul Saldaña opened up about the reasons behind his departure from the board, disclosing his fears of becoming bogged down in bureaucracy and describing a school district entangled in webs of distrust. Saldaña officially announced his resignation at a press conference last […]
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AISD magnet school policy in turmoil
Emotions ran high as Austin Independent School District trustees, school alums and parents weighed in on the district’s magnet school policy at the board’s special called meeting April 3. The board deliberated for several hours before it voted to adopt the Facility Master Plan update Monday night, and one of the most contentious issues of […]
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AISD board adopts Facility Master Plan update
Against the wishes of some trustees to postpone the item, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees worked into the early hours of Tuesday morning to adopt the Facility Master Plan update in a special called meeting. The master plan implemented in 2014 set in motion a 25-year trajectory for the city’s public education […]
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Austin’s top magnet school may be dislocated from East Austin home
One of the top 10 high schools in the country, the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, may be relocated from its stomping grounds on the campus of Lyndon B. Johnson High School in East Austin to a more central location if the Facility Master Plan Update is adopted by the Austin Independent School District Board […]