The chair of the Texas Senate Education Committee has outlined his vision for boosting teacher salaries, with a focus on retaining experienced educators. Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) filed Senate Bill 26 on Tuesday, a couple of weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott named raising teacher pay as one of seven emergency items for the 89th Legislature. Creighton’s […]
Education
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Austin ISD says it is prepared for potential impact of Trump’s immigration policies
Officials for the largest school district in Central Texas said they have taken steps to prepare for the potential impact of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Austin ISD General Counsel Kenneth M. Walker II said the district began reviewing its protocols before Trump began signing executive orders. “We could … anticipate that some of the […]
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Eanes ISD school board votes to combine two elementary schools to save money
The Eanes ISD school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to close Valley View Elementary as part of an effort to reduce an estimated $6.5 million budget deficit. District officials said closing the campus, which is currently at 50 percent of its operational capacity, will save $2 million. Starting next school year, Valley View students will attend Barton […]
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$17.8 million in food funding for Austin-area kids is on the line when the Legislature convenes
A federal food assistance program could provide families in Hays, Williamson and Travis counties with more than $17.8 million to feed their kids over the summer if Texas decides to participate. But that’s a big if. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission missed the Jan. 1 deadline to tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture […]
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How Austin ISD is lowering its chronic absenteeism rate, which more than doubled during the pandemic
When Austin ISD students Jonnell and Layth started middle school a few years ago, their attendance was on the spottier side. Jonnell said she didn’t like going because it wasn’t easy to get along with some of her classmates at Webb Middle School. But over the years, that’s changed. “I used to have problems with […]
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Will free tuition help more students pursue higher ed? Austin Community College hopes so.
The summer before Xavier Daniels’ senior year was all about having fun. He traveled to Japan and New York and visited family in Massachusetts. But this summer was different. The 18-year-old said when he graduated from Leander High School, it felt like real life was officially beginning. “Me and my friends were saying to each […]
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Austin ISD is asking voters to approve a new tax rate to help fund pay raises, reduce deficit
The Austin ISD school board is asking voters to approve a higher property tax rate in November that would increase the district’s revenue by tens of millions of dollars. That money would be used to give more than 60 percent of employees a raise and reduce the district’s budget deficit to $78 million. Austin ISD […]
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Austin Community College board approves 4.5% raise, increasing hourly minimum wage to $23
The Austin Community College District Board of Trustees on Monday approved a 4.5 percent across-the-board raise for employees. The new compensation package also increases the hourly minimum wage from $22 to $23, which also works out to a 4.5 percent raise. ACC has about 6,100 full-time and part-time employees. Executive Vice Chancellor of Finance and […]
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Austin ISD’s budget deficit means staff pay will barely budge without voter help
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to approve a 2024-25 budget that will require the district to dip into its savings account to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. Austin ISD’s annual operating budget will total nearly $954 million after a vote on Thursday. How large the district’s budget deficit will be during the next fiscal year largely […]
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Why do so many Austin-area school districts have budget deficits?
Lee esta historia en español At an Austin ISD school board meeting back in March, Trustee Candace Hunter shared a sobering message. “There is no rescue coming. There’s no one coming to save us. It’s only going to get worse,” she said. Hunter, who represents District 1, was talking about the multimillion-dollar budget deficit Austin ISD is […]
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UT Austin, one of the city’s largest employers, is eliminating most remote work
UT Austin will require “almost all” staff members to return to working on-site, full-time ahead of the fall semester. In an email to the campus community Wednesday, UT President Jay Hartzell said leaders of individual colleges and schools will finalize logistics by early July, and the policy will fully take effect by Aug. 19 – the […]
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An Austin-area school district says staff need a break, so it’s going to offer mental health days
Manor ISD is rolling out a new benefit during the 2024-2025 school year that will give employees time off to take care of their mental health. Superintendent Robert Sormani said he thinks it’s important to explicitly offer days off that are dedicated to mental health. “Even more than just giving people a day off, it’s really giving […]