The Austin Independent School District has a $1 billion bond that voters will be asked to approve this November. The bond would pay for projects at schools all over the district, but there’s a difference between funding for schools on the east side versus the west. If approved, some campuses would receive money to do […]
Education
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School district drums up support for upcoming bond package
In its campaign to get inform voters about most expensive school bond in Austin’s history, the school administration has counted on the age-old aphorism that seeing is believing. Last Thursday, the Austin Independent School District hosted a media tour of three facilities in an effort to illustrate to the public how a bond can revitalize […]
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Trustees cast doubt on success of UT partnership program
At its Aug. 28 meeting, the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees approved an interlocal agreement with the University of Texas at Austin to renew the Literacy First program at 22 Austin schools for the coming school year, but not without a few trustees raising questions about whether the program is delivering a return […]
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Crowd demands answers from AISD trustee at east side rally
Austin Independent School District Trustee Jayme Mathias struggled to find common ground with parents, teacher assistants and other community members at the Save East Austin Schools rally Wednesday night. The event was organized by Bertha Delgado and Monica Sanchez, who asked attendees to sign up for a political action committee that would lobby Austinites to […]
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City, AISD agree on Bowie expansion rules
The city and the Austin Independent School District have reached an agreement on how the district can expand Bowie High School even though it is over the environmentally sensitive Barton Springs Zone of the Edwards Aquifer. City Council voted unanimously at last week’s meeting to adopt the agreement, which includes swapping impervious cover from three […]
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School board calls for biggest bond in its history
Unprecedented in cost, the $1.05 billion bond package the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees officially approved at its last meeting before summer break is its most ambitious yet. Unlike the 2013 bond election where the package was divided into four separate propositions, this November voters will only have one choice: take it or […]
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Bond doubles down on segregation, trustee says
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 […]