The Austin Independent School District gave the public its first look at next year’s budget Monday. But to many, the song is the same as it was last year: Employees need more money, property taxes are skyrocketing and the district is still crippled by the requirement that it send tax revenue to the state. Ken […]
AISD Board of Trustees
This is the governing board of the Austin Independent School District. The board is comprised of two at-large members and seven district representatives.
Posted inAISD
AISD hears results of Imagine NE Austin proposal
At Monday’s workshop meeting of the Austin Independent School District board of trustees, members heard the results of AISD staff’s community engagement effort known as Imagine Northeast Austin. The project, which posed questions to residents regarding future facilities and academic programming, was originally prompted by discussion over what to do with land in the Mueller […]
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AISD trustees hear proposals for South Austin magnet school
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees heard five future programming proposals for a potential new South Austin magnet school, but that is about as far as planning went Monday night. At the board’s workshop meeting, Edmund Oropez, AISD’s chief officer of teaching and learning, presented programming possibilities envisioned by the South Magnet Planning […]
Posted inUncategorized
AISD looks into becoming “innovation” district
On Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees heard a proposal that could provide the district with more flexibility in its establishment of school hours, student-to-teacher ratios and teacher benefits, among other things. According to AISD Superintendent Paul Cruz, the move – pursuing designation as a “District of Innovation” – could give AISD […]
Posted inAISD
AISD announces Lee Elementary decision deadline
In a year defined by hard conversations about race and historical legacies, the Austin Independent School District has finally announced a date to vote on a potential name change for Robert E. Lee Elementary School. The issue was brought to the board by Hyde Park residents in July. In a brief statement Monday before more […]
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AISD staff to formalize HUB participation program
On Monday, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees directed staff to move forward with final plans for the district’s first official historically underutilized business program (known as HUB), though many board members expressed reservations. Although the issue has long been on the agenda of the AISD Board Oversight Committee on Excellence Through Equity, […]
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AISD moves ahead with new equity assessment model
It’s been more than a year since the Texas Civil Rights Project sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education to call attention to disparities in the ways the Austin Independent School District educates its students. And despite AISD trustee grumblings about the district’s sluggish progress, board members on Monday directed staff to begin […]
Posted inElections
January campaign finance filings are here
It’s January, and that means that local elections are starting to heat up. Jan. 15 campaign finance reports are in, offering insight into spring elections and crumbs for speculation about fall elections. For candidates seeking office in Travis County this year, it’s a dead sprint between now and the March 1 primaries, and after Friday’s […]
Posted inAISD
Shrinking AISD enrollment could be new normal
Trustees for the Austin Independent School District are asking district staff to let them know what variables they have control over after hearing grim student enrollment projections. At Monday’s workshop meeting, board members heard the results of an annual demographics report conducted by Davis Demographics & Planning Inc. The yearly report estimated that AISD’s enrollment will drop […]
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AISD hires marketing firm to tackle enrollment woes
Land purchases and resignation announcements aside, the Austin Independent School District board of trustees took additional steps to address the district’s enrollment issues Monday. In a 7-0 vote with trustees Kendall Pace and Edmund Gordon abstaining, the board decided to spend $350,000 on marketing consultant Sanders\Wingo Advertising Inc, who will hopefully help stem an expected 4,000-student […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Departures and Debriefings
That’s that, then … On Friday, the Austin Monitor learned that Richard Viktorin has resigned from his part-time position in City Council Member Ora Houston’s office following her vote on tax incentives for the Circuit of the Americas. Word of his resignation spread quickly after he sent letters to those Council members who did vote […]
Posted inAISD
Study: AISD passive participant in discrimination
The Austin Independent School District board of trustees heard troubling news Monday: AISD’s contracting process does nothing to combat entrenched discriminatory practices among businesses and governmental entities in the Austin area, according to a recent disparity study. The study, which began in May 2013, examined AISD, Travis County and the city of Austin’s business contracting and […]