Austin Independent School District earned an overall grade of “B” from the Texas Education Agency’s school accountability system, which is based in part on standardized testing scores. TEA issued the grades on Monday for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic. The last time AISD was rated in 2019, the district also received a B. […]
AISD
Austin’s largest school district, AISD is the Austin Independent School District.
Posted inAISD
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 schools, a recent poll of AISD voters concluded that there is broad support for making […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Austin ISD wants teacher housing in the 2022 bond, but some educators are skeptical of the plan
Lee esta historia en español The Austin Independent School District is gathering feedback on a proposal to include funding for teacher housing in the potential 2022 bond package. While bond dollars cannot be used for salaries, the money can be used for construction and renovation projects. The Austin ISD Board of Trustees is considering two […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
AISD debuts two draft bond proposals
Austin Independent School District hosted a series of four meetings last week to talk to community members about the bond planning process for the upcoming year. Over 200 stakeholders tuned in to the first meeting alone to better understand the process and provide their two cents on the first draft of the proposals. At the […]
Posted inBudget
Austin ISD approves $1.9 billion budget – but nearly half of that money will go to the state
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted 7-2 early Friday to adopt a nearly $1.9 billion budget for the upcoming academic year. School board president Geronimo Rodriguez Jr. noted it was the first balanced budget trustees have passed since 2017. Austin ISD had warned its bond rating could be at risk if the board decided to […]
Posted inBonds & Propositions
Potential Austin ISD bond proposal could include funding to help teachers with housing
The Austin ISD Board of Trustees will decide later this summer whether to include a bond package on the ballot in November. A bond allows the school district to borrow money to cover the cost of capital expenditures, such as updating facilities, improving technology and buying new buses. The 2022 bond program may also address […]
Posted inAISD
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. With more than two decades of experience working in education throughout Texas, Mays started his […]
Posted inAISD
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, the board and community will prepare for the deep work of identifying the next superintendent,” […]
Posted inAustin
Alamo Drafthouse owners bought an old school and promised affordable housing. Years later, there is none.
For a moment, the possibilities for a former school building in one of Austin’s most coveted neighborhoods seemed endless. A contemporary arts center with space for restaurants. What about a community theater? The 4-acre spot in Hyde Park, several groups suggested, could be used to build homes public school teachers could afford. Even in 2017, […]
Posted inAISD
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 2022-23 school year. With little room left to dip into reserves, staff said they were […]
Posted inAISD
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 space, the noise carries. “It’s from 1970,” Peña says. “The size of the gym is […]
Posted inAISD
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 Christy Rome met with a joint subcommittee of City Council, Travis County and the AISD […]