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 […]
AISD
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AISD takes one look at equity gaps
Austin Independent School District staff presented trustees with a single-year data snapshot last Monday that showed obvious equity gaps within the district’s student population. However, the snapshot is only one piece of the district’s complete equity report, which is tentatively due in October. It’s been more than a year since the Texas Civil Rights Project sent […]
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AISD Trustees favor new Lee for Lee Elementary
After a near-yearlong process, Austin Independent School District trustees heard three final choices for the renaming of Robert E. Lee Elementary school at their Monday workshop meeting. Although not set to formally vote until May 23, board members reached a verbal consensus in a relatively short time, setting their sights on replacing “Robert E. Lee” […]
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AISD’s financial woes: Why a tax swap?
Although Austin Independent School District trustees have been lamenting the district’s troubled financial state for more than a year, it may not be readily apparent what the problem is, particularly given recent news that the district is bringing in $1.3 billion in revenue. But in March, Mayor Steve Adler spoke of a possible “tax swap” […]
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Historic commission postpones Robert E. Lee decision
Last month, the Austin Independent School District voted to change the name of Robert E. Lee Elementary school, which currently honors a Confederate general from the Civil War. Although renaming issues persist, the concern has largely been resolved. However, at the request of a group of Austinites, the Historic Landmark Commission considered at its Monday […]
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AISD gives first peek at $1.3 billion dollar budget
The Austin Independent School District gave the public its first look at next year’s budget Monday. But to many, the song is the same as it was last year: Employees need more money, property taxes are skyrocketing and the district is still crippled by the requirement that it send tax revenue to the state. Ken […]
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AISD hears results of Imagine NE Austin proposal
At Monday’s workshop meeting of the Austin Independent School District board of trustees, members heard the results of AISD staff’s community engagement effort known as Imagine Northeast Austin. The project, which posed questions to residents regarding future facilities and academic programming, was originally prompted by discussion over what to do with land in the Mueller […]
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AISD trustees hear proposals for South Austin magnet school
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees heard five future programming proposals for a potential new South Austin magnet school, but that is about as far as planning went Monday night. At the board’s workshop meeting, Edmund Oropez, AISD’s chief officer of teaching and learning, presented programming possibilities envisioned by the South Magnet Planning […]
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AISD to seek bids for 10 properties
The Austin Club and the Austin Independent School District’s centrally located administrative headquarters — as well as other district-owned properties — might soon see an ownership change. On Monday, the AISD board of trustees announced that 10 district properties that are vacant or largely used for non-instructional purposes might be sold, leased or repurposed depending on […]
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AISD looks into becoming “innovation” district
On Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees heard a proposal that could provide the district with more flexibility in its establishment of school hours, student-to-teacher ratios and teacher benefits, among other things. According to AISD Superintendent Paul Cruz, the move – pursuing designation as a “District of Innovation” – could give AISD […]
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AISD announces Lee Elementary decision deadline
In a year defined by hard conversations about race and historical legacies, the Austin Independent School District has finally announced a date to vote on a potential name change for Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The issue was brought to the board by Hyde Park residents in July. In a brief statement Monday before more […]
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AISD staff to formalize HUB participation program
On Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees directed staff to move forward with final plans for the district’s first official historically underutilized business program (known as HUB), though many board members expressed reservations. Although the issue has long been on the agenda of the AISD Board Oversight Committee on Excellence Through Equity, […]