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Most Popular Stories
- How Trump’s federal funding freeze is beginning to affect Austin
- APD won’t enforce SB 14 as Paxton and Trump further attack gender-affirming health care
- After shutting off mental health care for Austin musicians, SIMS Foundation restarts services
- Council approves call for better coordination, planning among downtown projects
- Austin ISD announces hiring freeze as budget deficit grows to $110 million
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- Council Member Mike Siegel will speak out against cuts to federal services
- City manager hosts community meetings on next year’s budget
- DAA offers a look at future of Sixth Street entertainment district
- RRCD names Klepadlo as executive director
- Zero Waste Advisory Commission adds own ‘no’ rec on merge with RMC
AISD
With PE required each day next fall, it’s up to Austin elementary schools to find time for art and music
Principal Katie Peña stands in the entrance to the gym at Highland Park Elementary School in Northwest Austin. It’s a bright and colorful room, with a mural covering one wall. Students sit on the floor socializing. Because it’s a small…
AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • Apr 13, 2022
Public education advocates sound alarm on 'broken' school financing system
Fighting the compounding pressures of the Covid pandemic and decreasing enrollment numbers, public education advocates have been working hard to address the impact of Texas’ financing system on the chronically underfunded Austin Independent School District. Texas School Coalition Executive Director…
AISD • By Kali Bramble • Apr 4, 2022
Austin ISD paid hundreds of millions more than other districts in Texas' 'recapture' program
Lee esta historia en español. The Austin Independent School District is sending more taxpayer dollars than any other school system to the state’s so-called recapture program, a new study finds. The decades-old system, known commonly as Robin Hood, is meant to balance…
AISD • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Feb 15, 2022
Austin ISD adds two Fridays off this semester to provide 'stress relief' to staff amid omicron wave
Lee esta historia en español. The Austin Independent School District is adding two three-day weekends to the spring semester to give teachers a break as the omicron Covid-19 wave has stretched campuses thin. Students will now have two extra Fridays…
AISD • By Marisa Charpentier, KUT • Feb 1, 2022
Austin ISD will make cuts at Central Office instead of reducing class periods at middle and high schools
The Austin Independent School District said it will not reduce the number of class periods at the middle and high school levels next year – a proposal floated as a way to save money. “I wanted to lower everyone’s anxiety and…
AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • Dec 14, 2021
Low enrollment might force Austin ISD to make budget cuts
After seeing a continued dip in enrollment, Austin ISD is asking for feedback on its budget for next school year, which will likely include cuts. School districts get money from the state based on how many students are enrolled; when…
AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • Nov 29, 2021
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Austin ISD didn't increase enrollment this year, meaning staff won't get annual raises
The Austin Independent School District didn’t meet its enrollment goals for this school year, according to data collected for the state in October. The school district lost thousands of students last school year during the Covid-19 pandemic and was hoping…
AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • Nov 10, 2021
Superintendent's evaluation sparks heated testimony on district's working conditions
The AISD Board of Trustees faced a grueling round of public testimony at their meeting this past Thursday, with more than a dozen teachers calling in to express intolerable levels of stress. Citing administrative micromanagement, understaffing, excessive hours and poor…
AISD • By Kali Bramble • Nov 2, 2021
Mask mandate was the right decision to keep students safe, Austin ISD superintendent says
State leaders made it hard to keep students safe this school year, Austin ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said Tuesday during her state of the district address. Elizalde said she wasn’t expecting Gov. Greg Abbott or Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath…
AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • Oct 20, 2021
AISD requires masks for all, despite Abbott's order
Facing spiking Covid cases and a fast-approaching fall semester, the Austin Independent School District has made the decision to require face masks in defiance of an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott. “I am responsible for the safety, the…
AISD • By Elizabeth Pagano • Aug 10, 2021
AISD brainstorms ways to increase parent engagement
Austin Independent School District’s annual survey, sent out January through March 2021, was designed to gather feedback from parents and guardians about various topics at their children’s schools. This year’s survey focused on measuring whether parents feel their involvement is welcomed…
AISD • By Hayden Steckel • Jul 8, 2021
Austin ISD lost thousands of students during the pandemic. It's going door to door to bring them back.
Fifty Austin ISD staff members gather outside Mendez Middle School in Southeast Austin on Saturday, fueling up for the day with breakfast tacos and coffee. The group is made up of central office staff, teachers and volunteers. The plan is…
