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Education
'I’m pretty speechless': Austin ISD school board unanimously approves equity-focused bond
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Thursday to put a $2.44 billion bond on the November ballot. It is the largest bond package in AISD history, but district officials and school board members say what makes the…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Aug 15, 2022
Crossing guard shortage persists as school start date nears
“Let’s go crossing now, everybody’s learning how, looking left and right with me,” crossing guard Jimmy McCord sang to the tune of the Beach Boys hit “Surfin’ Safari.” “I’m a bit of an entertainer,” he noted. This is just one…
Education • By Samuel Stark • Aug 11, 2022
Poll suggests support for unions and sustainability in AISD
The Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees will vote today on the bond proposals they’d like to advance onto November’s ballot. While both of the bond proposal options the administration recently debuted include a number of improvements to local…
AISD • By Willow Higgins • Aug 11, 2022
Austin ISD school board selects Anthony Mays for interim superintendent
Lee esta historia in español. The Austin ISD Board of Trustees has chosen Anthony Mays, the district’s chief of schools since October 2020, to be interim superintendent. He makes history as the first Black man to serve as AISD superintendent.…
AISD • By Becky Fogel, KUT • Jun 15, 2022
A new Austin ISD superintendent won’t be hired until next summer
The Austin Independent School District will hire an interim superintendent for the next school year after Stephanie Elizalde leaves June 30. Elizalde has been named the lone finalist for the superintendent job in Dallas ISD. “After the interim superintendent is hired,…
AISD • By Claire McInerny, KUT • May 31, 2022
AISD Board of Trustees reckons with mounting constraints in preliminary budget outline
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees was up late last Thursday bracing for a challenging budget cycle in coming months. Chief Financial Officer Eduardo Ramos closed the marathon information session with a presentation outlining preliminary revenues and expenditures for the…
AISD • By Kali Bramble • Apr 20, 2022
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Public Health Committee hears update on $11 million child care investment
Staff members leading city and county efforts to expand child care services gave City Council’s Public Health Committee an update last Wednesday on the impacts of last year’s budget cycle. Last summer, Council approved the investment of $11 million in…
Education • By Kali Bramble • Apr 18, 2022
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
Texas schools won’t lose funding for attendance drops during the pandemic
Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency announced Tuesday that public school districts may not lose funding because of low attendance rates caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In Texas, schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled…
Education • By Brian Lopez, The Texas Tribune • Mar 31, 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…
