Lead has been found in the drinking water of five Austin public schools, new data obtained by Environment Texas from the Austin Independent School District shows. It’s the second time in the past year the toxic metal has been discovered in AISD schools and facilities. The tests revealed lead at levels considered especially unsafe by […]
Education
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Norman and Sims end school year as separate schools, before combining this fall
The Austin Independent School District is hosting a picnic Saturday to introduce the Norman and Sims elementary school communities to one another before they combine as one school in August. Students from Norman will go to school in the Sims building next year, while Norman gets a major renovation. The merger came out of the […]
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AISD Board President Kendall Pace resigns after text message controversy
Kendall Pace, president of the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees, said this morning that she would resign from her position as president and as Place 9 trustee after controversial text messages she sent to another board trustee surfaced last week. The Austin teachers’ union had called on Pace to resign over the texts, […]
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Austin’s infill builders raise $10K to pay for 3,400 student lunches
With an eye toward public education, infill developers in Austin are tackling a new problem. Builders Care Austin, a 501(c)(3) that allows infill builders around town to make philanthropic contributions, has raised $10,000 to help pay off the lunch debts of Austin Independent School District students. Originally, Ed Ishmael, a local lawyer and developer who […]
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AISD Board of Trustees contemplates deep cuts to the budget
The Austin Independent School District’s preliminary budget for the 2018-19 school year was released on April 23. On April 30, the members of the AISD Board of Trustees weighed in with their thoughts on how to continue to fund administrators and teachers while grappling with the staggering $30 million deficit that the school district is […]
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AISD board debates how to prevent a financially insolvent school district
When Austinites passed the $1 billion Austin Independent School District bond that was intended for major improvements in school facilities as well as transportation and district-wide improvements to technology for teachers and students, they knew they were voting to provide the school district with a much-needed financial boost. However, even with a significant amount of […]
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Two community groups compete for job to help turn Mendez Middle School around
Mendez Middle School will be run by a group outside the Austin Independent School District next year. At a meeting last night, two groups explained to parents, teachers and community members how they would improve academics at the school. Mendez has failed state accountability tests the last four years, and now the district is looking […]
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School board approves Confederate school renaming process
The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees voted 7-2 last night to approve an action initiated by district staff last fall to rename five school facilities named after Confederate military personnel. Deliberation on whether to change the names for the John T. Allan facility, Zachary Taylor Fulmore Middle School, Sidney Lanier High School, John […]
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Middle school turnaround plan impresses board
Having to reinvest in a failing school is typically a somber affair, but the Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees was pleasantly surprised by the thought and energy that had been put into the Burnet Middle School Turnaround Plan shared at the Feb. 12 work session. The Texas Education Agency accountability ratings released at […]
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School board still split on school renamings
At its Feb. 12 work session, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees formally discussed the possibility of renaming several Confederate-affiliated facilities. It was the first time it has done so since tensions between some trustees had culminated in an attempt at African-American Trustee Edmund Gordon’s censure. Having postponed the item once before, the board […]
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Austin ISD delays decision to rename schools named for Confederate figures
The Austin Independent School District’s board of trustees is slowing down its timeline for a vote on whether to change the names of five schools named after Confederate figures. When the school board started this discussion in November, it proposed changing the names of the following buildings: Eastside Memorial High School at the Johnston Campus […]
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School district fiscal forecast bleak
Although it did not come as a shock, the precarious position of the Austin Independent School District’s financial future dampened the mood at the end of the board of trustees’ Jan. 22 meeting. The ever-increasing amount of recapture the district pays back to the state in compliance with Chapter 41 is expected to exceed the […]