North - Northwest Austin Edition | September 2024

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North Northwest Austin Edition VOLUME 18, ISSUE 8 SEPT. 28 OCT. 28, 2024

2024 Voter Guide

2024 Education Edition

The math problem

Austin ISD teacher Maria Mota works with her fth grade students on a math lesson Sept. 13. District ocials said they are implementing ways to focus on the subject as statewide test scores decline.

MATTHEW BROOKSCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Educators concerned as math test scores continue to decline locally, statewide

achievement in recent years, ocials said. “I really do think the pandemic brought every- body’s attention to, ‘Houston, we might have a math problem,’” said Susan Diaz, AISD’s assistant superintendent of secondary academics.

intervention and teacher training. Low math achievement rates were widely reported even before COVID-19, said Gabe Grantham, an education policy adviser for non- partisan think tank Texas 2036. For Austin ISD and Round Rock ISD, multiple factors have led to lower

BY GRACE DICKENS, HANNAH NORTON & BEN THOMPSON

In 2023, less than half of Texas students met grade level standards on the standardized math assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted previously existing issues with math education, experts say, including insucient student

CONTINUED ON 26

Also in this issue

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INSIDE

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Business: Learn more about Bandito’s, a collectibles shop in Austin (Page 29)

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Market leaders & metro team

Reporters Brittany Anderson Amanda Cutshall Dacia Garcia Kameryn Griesser Sarah Hernandez Anna Maness Haley McLeod Hannah Norton Brooke Sjoberg Ben Thompson Amira Van Leeuwen Gracie Warhurst Chloe Young Graphic Designers Alissa Foss Gloria Gonzalez Melissa Johnson Sabrina Musachia

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Impacts

• Opened in mid-August • 13915 Research Blvd., Austin • www.nextgenacademy.school

45 TOLL

LAKELINE BLVD.

4 Spirit Halloween The holiday-themed store opened in the Shops at Tech Ridge. The store replaced a Party City, and sells animatronics, costumes, home decor, t-shirts and collectibles. • Opened in August • 12901 N. I-35 Frontage Road, Bldg. 2, Ste. 200, Austin • www.spirithalloween.com 5 Skims The third permanent Skims storefront in the U.S. opened in Domain Northside. The brand offers a variety of clothing from leggings and dresses to bodysuits and waist trainers. • Opened Aug. 28 • 3121 Palm Way, Ste. 124, Austin • www.skims.com 6 Sankalp Taste of India The eatery’s first Austin location and second Texas location opened in the Tech Ridge area serving soup, appetizers, chaat, pizza, sandwiches, curries and more. • Opened Aug. 17 • 12901 N. I-35, Ste. 1830, Austin • www.sankalpusa.com

MOPAC

CENTURY OAKS TERRACE

WELLS BRANCH PKWY.

1 11

LAKE CREEK PKWY.

AMY DONOVAN PLAZA

FEATHERGRASS COURT

620

MOPAC

SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD.

WALNUT CREEK PARK

4 10

6 13

GREAT HILLS TRL.

360

183

2222

SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD.

MAP NOT TO SCALE

Coming soon

7 Activate Games The active gaming facility offers different rooms with a variety of timed games ranging in difficulty levels. Players wear electronic wristbands which track each player’s gaming activity and achievements. • Opening in December

2 Veronica Beard Veronica Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard cofounded the company in 2010 with a focus on creating classics for women. The business offers a variety of clothing from outerwear to handbags and accessories. • Opened Sept. 6 • 11501 Century Oaks Terrace, Ste. 129, Austin • www.veronicabeard.com 3 NextGen Academy The school is part of the AI-based Alpha School system. Curriculum centers on gaming and esports.

ANDERSON LN.

Now open CAPITAL OF TEXAS HWY.

1 Freebird The store sells handcrafted leather boots, hats and accessories. Boots are made with original Goodyear welt construction, metal work and full grain leathers. • Opened Sept. 6 • 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, Ste. 132, Austin • www.freebirdstores.com

• 3220 Feathergrass Court, Austin • www.playactivate.com/domain

8 Sixty Vines The restaurant is known for its eco-friendly wine-on-tap program and vineyard-inspired menu. It offers pours by the flight, half glass, full glass and bottle.

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• Opening Oct. 7 • 3401 Esperanza Crossing, Austin • www.sixtyvines.com

Now open

Coming soon

9 The Learning Experience The childcare center uses its Learning Experience Academic Program curriculum, or LEAP, with hands-on activities to help children ages six months to six years develop intellectual, social and cognitive skills. • Opening early 2025 10 Five Below The new store will offer toys, games, snacks, room decor, beauty products, fitness equipment and more. • Grand opening on Sept. 27 • 12901 N. I-35, Ste. 600B, Austin • www.fivebelow.com • 11624 Anderson Mill Road, Austin • www.thelearningexperience.com

14 Einstein Bros. Bagels The shop serves a variety of bagels with cream cheese as well as breakfast sandwiches and deli sandwiches on bagels, pastries, and coffee. • Opened Aug. 22 • 9215 W. Parmer Lane, Ste. 110, Austin • www.einsteinbros.com

16 Toastique The eatery’s menu includes toast-focused creations, all-natural smoothies, cold-pressed juices and smoothie bowls. This is the franchise’s second Austin location. • Opening in December • 3220 Amy Donovan Plaza, Ste. 100, Austin • www.toastique.com

Relocations

11 Peter Millar The luxury brand features sportswear, resort apparel, tailored clothing and accessories. The store was previously located at 11600 Century Oaks Terrace. • Relocated in August • 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, Ste. 114, Austin • www.petermillar.com

17 I Fratelli Pizza The pizza restaurant offered specialty and create-your- own pizzas along with salads and desserts. • Closed this spring/summer • 10001 Research Blvd., Ste. 160, Austin • www.ifratellipizza.com 18 Teaspoon The Arbor Walk location served classic boba tea flavors such as taro, jasmine and Thai tea as well as signature drinks including a strawberry colada, matcha royale and silky mango. • Closed Aug. 31 • 10515 N. Mopac Expressway, Bldg. B, Ste. 215, Austin • www.teaspoonlife.com

appliances and consumer electronics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 23. The company will shut down over 170 stores across 15 states, including the Shops at Tech Ridge location, and lay off over 4,000 employees. • Closing TBD • 12901 N. I-35, Austin • www.conns.com 15 Sylvan Learning Center The kindergarten through 12th grade tutoring business closed both of its Austin locations. The closure was announced in a letter to families and in a notice posted on the doors of the centers. The center offered reading, writing, math, science and foreign language tutoring. • Closed July 31 • 8863 Anderson Mill Road, Ste. 120, Austin • www.sylvanlearning.com

In the news

12 Alloy The apartment complex is finishing construction in September. Completions consist of touching up paint, finalizing amenities and tiling the pool area. • 10400 Research Blvd., Austin • www.alloyaustin.com

Closings

13 Conn’s HomePlus The national retailer of home goods, furniture,

NORTH - NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION

Real estate

Home sales were down over 58% in ZIP code 78750 year over year in August, according to Austin Board of Realtors data. Residential market data

Homes sold

August 2023

August 2024

-23.8%

+25%

-58.82%

-43.75%

-6.06%

45 TOLL

78727

78729

78750

78758

78759

78729

620

MOPAC

183

Median home sales price

78727

78750

78759

August

2023

2024

78758

360

$550,000 $495,000 $585,000 $411,278 $681,150

$373,500 $472,500 $690,250 $408,500 $653,500

78727

2222

78729

78750

78758

MARKET DATA PROVIDED BY AUSTIN BOARD OF REALTORS AND UNLOCK MLS 512-454-7636 WWW.ABOR.COM

78759

Average days on market

North-Northwest Austin

+24.32%

+39.28%

-29.31%

+25%

-6%

August

2023

2024

141

107

New listings

126

Closed sales

78727

78729

78750

78758

78759

Homes under contract

116

Homes sold by price point in August

Months of inventory

3.2

3.9

78727

78729

78750

78758

78759

- -

5 7

$900,000+

2 5

Price per square foot

$700,000-$899,999

$313 $309

$500,000-$699,999

7 4

$300,000-$499,999

Active listings

302

346

<$299,999

NOVEMBER 16-17 | DOWNTOWN AUSTIN BENEFITING TEXAS LIBRARIES AND LITERACY LAURA BUSH, HONORARY CHAIR BURNT BOOKS GROW/CUENTOS DE TEJAS BY ZEKE PENA

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

Development

BY ANNA MANESS

After three decades playing movies on the big screen, Regal Arbor 8 Cinema @ the Great Hills Market was demolished this summer along with Macaroni Grill. As of late August, both lots are fenced o and down to concrete slabs. The tear-down came from a redevelopment proposal for the area in 2017, which was put on hold due to ongoing business leases including Mexican restaurant Manuel’s. While Manuel’s lease is set to expire in December 2025, the owners said they are in lease extension negotiations. Originally called Great Hills 8 Cinema, the movie theater opened in 1989. Arbor Cinema closed on Sept. 23, 2022, according to previous reporting by Community Impact . Retail center future uncertain

Going forward

The future of Great Hills Market has been in discussion for several years after Austin City Council approved a zoning change request in 2018 for the center to add apartments, restaurants and retail space. This sparked mixed reactions from community members, as many were hesitant about the potential increase in trac. Manuel’s co-owners Jennifer McNevin and Greg Koury are discussing leasing details with Trademark Property Company, who leases and manages Manuel’s property. The husband-and- wife duo do not have plans to close and are hopeful to extend the lease, McNevin conrmed. “Manuel’s is a part of the fabric of the Austin community,” McNevin said. “People have had many of their signicant moments of their lives at our restaurant.”

The demolition of Regal Arbor 8 Cinema @ the Great Hills Market was completed in August.

Manuel's

Regal Arbor 8 Cinema demolition

183

Macaroni Grill demolition

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NORTH NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION

Government

BY HALEY MCLEOD & BEN THOMPSON

Austin, Travis County leaders back pretrial legal support A program providing legal representation fol- lowing arrest in Travis County is poised to expand. The big picture Local leaders and advocates aim to offer counsel at first appearance, or CAFA, post-arrest, regard- less of ability to pay for a lawyer. Travis County commissioners are considering a fiscal year 2024-25 budget that could reserve millions of dollars for expanded CAFA services. At City Hall, council approved a FY 2024-25 spending plan with money reserved for an ongoing county partnership. While CAFA has yet to be fully implemented, the lack of full-time legal services led one arrestee to sue the county this spring over its “two-tiered” magistration system that he, and others, have said

Austin charter election called off

CAFA ramps up* Local officials hope to expand CAFA services. After trial runs, daily shifts will begin in October followed by full implementation next year. 30 magistration shifts with CAFA completed so far 14 county judge shifts 16 city magistrate shifts 834 people magistrated; prosecution declined charges in 6% of cases

Thirteen proposed amendments to Aus- tin’s city charter were put on hold following

a legal challenge. What happened

District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued a temporary injunction against Aus- tin’s charter amendment election Aug. 29. Gamble sided with plaintiffs who claimed City Council didn’t give proper public notice and violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when calling the proposition election during their August budget adoption. The 13 items’ removal from the November election was confirmed just ahead of local deadlines to finalize ballots. A city spokes- person said staff took responsibility for the meeting posting process that prompted the lawsuit.

SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT *AS OF AUG. 27

results in disparate legal outcomes for those who can and can’t afford a lawyer. What’s next Local CAFA offerings remained in a trial state as of this summer. New funding could support dozens of staff positions and more CAFA shifts. Travis County Budget Director Travis Gatlin called the current proposal “the single biggest and fastest undertaking” on the issue in more than two decades.

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

Election

BY GRACE DICKENS

Voter Guide

2024

Dates to know

Where to vote

Oct. 21: First day of early voting Oct. 25: Last day to apply for ballot by mail (received, not postmarked) Nov. 1: Last day of early voting Nov. 5: Election Day and the last day to receive ballot by mail (or Nov. 6 if carrier envelope is postmarked by 7 p.m. at location of election on Election Day)

Travis County residents can vote at any Travis County polling place. Visit elections. traviscountytx.gov for a list of locations. This is not an official sample ballot, which is scheduled for release after press time. Candidates are shown in alphabetical order unless ballot order has already been set.

Only candidates in contested elections are included. Go to county election websites for information on uncontested races.

KEY: D Democrat G Green L Libertarian R Republican *Incumbent

Austin City Council, District 4 Louis Herrin Monica Guzmán Eduardo ‘’Lalito’’ Romero José ‘’Chito’’ Vela* Jim Rabuck Austin City Council, District 6 Krista Laine Mackenzie Kelly* Austin City Council, District 7 Gary L. Bledsoe Pierre Huy Nguyen Todd Shaw Edwin Bautista Mike Siegel Daniel "Dan" Dominguez Adam Powell Austin City Council, District 10 Marc Duchen Ashika Ganguly Austin ISD Board of trustees, At-Large Position 8 Amy Moore Dylan “Sky” MacAdams Fernando Lucas de Urioste Lindsey Stringer Nathaniel Hellman Nick Franke Austin ISD Proposition A “Ratifying the ad valorem tax rate of $0.9505 per $100 valuation in the Austin Independent School District for the current year, a rate that will result in an increase of 8.3 percent in maintenance and operations tax revenue for the district for the current year as compared to the preceding year, which is an additional $184,628,049.”

Texas Supreme Court Justice — Place 4 R John Devine* D Christine Vinh Weems Texas Supreme Court Justice — Place 6 R Jane Bland* D Bonnie Lee Goldstein L J. David Roberson Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — presiding judge R David J. Schenck D Holly Taylor Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — Place 7 D Nancy Mulder R Gina Parker Texas Court of Criminal Appeals — Place 8 D Chika Anyiam R Lee Finley Texas House District 47 R Scott Firsing D Vikki Goodwin* Texas House District 48 D Donna Howard* L Daniel Jerome McCarthy Texas House District 136

Sample ballot

Federal elections President D Kamala Harris L Chase Oliver G Jill Stein R Donald Trump U.S. Senate D Colin Allred

L Ted Brown R Ted Cruz* U.S. House of Representatives, District 10 D Theresa Boisseau R Michael T. McCaul* L Jeff Miller U.S. House of Representatives, District 21 D Kristin Hook R Chip Roy* L Bob King U.S. House of Representatives, District 37 L Girish Altekar D Lloyd Doggett* R Jenny Garcia Sharon

D John H. Bucy III* R Amin Salahuddin Texas Senator District 25 R Donna Campbell* D Merrie Fox Local elections Austin Mayor Carmen D. Llanes Pulido Jeffery L. Bowen Doug Greco Kirk Watson* Kathie Tovo

State elections Texas 3rd Court of Appeals District Justice — Place 2 D Maggie Ellis R John Messinger Texas Railroad Commissioner

R Christi Craddick* D Katherine Culbert L Hawk Dunlap G Eddie Espinoza Texas Supreme Court Justice — Place 2 R Jimmy Blacklock* D DaSean Jones

CONTINUED ON 15

SOURCES: CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE/COMMUNITY IMPACT

NORTH - NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION

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Election

BY GRACE DICKENS

KEY : *Incumbent

Travis County Proposition A “Approving the ad valorem tax rate of $ 0.344445 per $100 valuation in County of Travis for the current year, a rate that is $0.025 higher per $100 valuation than the voter-approval tax rate of County of Travis, for the purpose of increasing access to affordable and high- quality child care and afterschool/summer programming and related services for low-income families and developing and administering related workforce and economic development programs. Last year, the ad valorem tax rate in County of Travis was $0.304655 per $100 valuation.”

taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds. This is a property tax increase.” Round Rock ISD Proposition B “The issuance of $125,300,000 of bonds for the acquisition, improvement and upgrading of technology systems, including related infrastructure and equipment, and the levy and imposition of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds. This is a property tax increase.” Round Rock ISD Proposition C “The issuance of $8,620,000 for the construction, acquisition, and equipment of performing arts facilities, and the levy and imposition of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds. This is a property tax increase.” Round Rock ISD Proposition D “The issuance of $65,910,000 of bonds for the construction, renovation, expansion and equipment of athletic stadium facilities, and the levy and imposition of taxes sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on the bonds. This is a property tax increase.” Travis County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5 Tanisa Jeffers* Sherri Lynn Taylor

CONTINUED FROM 13

Sample ballot

Round Rock ISD Board of trustees, Place 1 Joshua Escalante Estevan Jesus “Chuy” Zárate* Round Rock ISD Place 2

April Guerra Melissa Ross Round Rock ISD Place 7 James Steele Mingyuan “Michael” Wei Round Rock ISD Proposition A

Polling locations

Election day Balcones Woods Shopping Center 11150 Research Blvd., Austin Disability Rights Texas 2222 W. Braker Lane, Austin Round Rock ISD Hartfield Performing Arts Center 5800 McNeil Drive, Austin Shops at Arbor Walk 10515 N. MoPac Expressway, Austin

“The issuance of $798,305,000 of bonds for the construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion and equipment of school buildings (including projects that address facility deficiencies, growth, and safety and security), the purchase of necessary sites for school buildings, the purchase of new school buses and vehicles for emergency, safety or security purposes and the retrofitting of school buses with emergency, safety, or security equipment, and the levy and imposition of

SOURCES: CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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NORTH - NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION

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Election

BY BEN THOMPSON

*INCUMBENT

Austin mayor

Why are you running for this oce and what’s the central issue you’re hoping to address?

Following years of increased property taxes and costs for city services, how would you aim to keep Austin aordable for residents? I’d aim to budget more responsibly and transparently, looking for eciencies in outsourced contracting. I’d aim to stabilize home prices by preserving and producing deeply aordable housing, scaling community land trusts while incentivizing privately-owned, subsidized aordable housing. And I’d protect tenants and homeowners’ ability to negotiate redevelopment for maximum benet.

I am running to improve Austin’s quality of life with new, accountable and community-driven leadership, placing public interests over special interests. Austin is at a crossroads facing stark income inequality, strained infrastructure and frequent extreme weather. With transparency, inclusivity and creativity, we can create a thriving future for all Austinites.

Carmen Llanes Pulido Experience: Lifelong Austinite, 20-year community organizer, City commissioner (Planning, Quality of Life, Redistricting), Land use scholar www.carmen4mayor.com

Getting back to the basics of running a city. Provide clarity to the citizens regarding the out of control spending and the city budget.

Since taxes never go down, the city needs to operate with a budget that does not further burden the taxpayers.

Jeery L. Bowen Experience: 68 years of life experience are my best qualications and working with various personalities www.jeowenforaustinmayor.com

As a former Austin ISD teacher and community organizer, I am running to ght for working families, build a strong middle class in Austin, and to stand up to Greg Abbott and state leaders against their attacks on local decisions, school funding and our civil rights.

Investing in education, workforce, and living wage jobs and implementing the unspent $1.8 billion in voter-approved bond measures will give us our best return-on-investment and an economic stimulus to bring in increased tax revenues. Ending “sweetheart rates” for large industrial utility users will lighten the burden on residential ratepayers.

Doug Greco Experience: Over 25 years

experience as an organizer, non- prot leader, LGBTQ advocate and public school teacher www.grecoforaustin.com

I’m running for reelection because there’s more to do to make Austin aordable and address needs such as homelessness, public safety and trac. In just two years, we’ve passed the most ambitious land-use reforms in decades, made the Austin Infrastructure Academy to create more jobs and improved City Hall performance.

We need to build more housing, dierent types of housing, and housing around transit lines. We were hamstrung by segregation-era zoning restrictions and an outdated land development code, which is why we made reforms to make it easier to match the demand in housing from new and longtime residents alike.

Kirk Watson* Experience: Mayor, 1997-2001, 2023-present; State Senator (2007- 2020) www.kirkwatson.com

Austin needs an experienced leader committed to transparent government, with a track record of putting people rst; one who is a climate champion; and one committed to work with the community on Austin’s biggest challenges, from addressing issues of aordability to becoming more resilient in the face of climate change.

As your Mayor, I will approach this issue as I did on Council: requiring developers to pay the full costs of infrastructure and development; collaborating with partners to leverage city resources; trimming unnecessary expenses from the budget; analyzing utility rates and other fees to avoid increases that impact family budgets.

Kathie Tovo Experience: Mayor Pro Tem, 2015–2019; City Council Member 2011–2023; UT adjunct professor, 2023–24 www.kathieforaustin.com

Candidates were asked to keep responses under 50 words, answer the questions provided and avoid attacking opponents. Answers may have been edited or cut to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity. For more election coverage, go to www.communityimpact.com/voter-guide.

NORTH NORTHWEST AUSTIN EDITION

Election

BY BROOKE SJOBERG

In November, Round Rock ISD will ask voters to approve a $998 million bond package. Unlike past bond proposals, the district does not want to build new schools. Instead, these funds will be used to address the major and minor needs of schools across the district, per a recent report on district facilities. The last bond, passed in 2018, totaled $508.4 million and went to alleviating elementary school crowding, improving high schools, building a natatorium and other investments. With the 2024 proposal, the district aims to address needs of aging facilities and access to career and technical education, as well as replace aging technology. A new athletic facility is also proposed for RRISD’s east side. RRISD proposes $1B in bonds

What they’re saying

The context

What’s next?

Proposition A: $798.3 million • HVAC, roofing, electrical and plumbing replacements alongside restoring parts of aging facilities • New career and technical education facility plus new school buses Proposition B: $125.3 million • Instructional technology and technology infrastructure replacements • Improvements to internet speed, connectivity and security of district network

Budget comparison FY 2014-2015 • Enrollment: 46,840 • Total: $361.3M

RRISD was one of few in Central Texas to pass a balanced budget this year, but doing so required cutting $30 million in operating expenses. “Having served on this board … this is the first time that we’ve had a balanced budget in a while,” RRISD Board President Amber Landrum said. RRISD Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said the district was able to make budget cuts without having to lay off employees, although some were reassigned to other positions. RRISD estimates that the state will provide about half the funding the district received a decade before, despite having similar enrollment. The district is also expecting to pay an estimated $19.9 million back to the state due to recapture, a process also known as Robin Hood that takes excess tax dollars from property-rich districts and redistributes them to poorer districts. With a lack of an increase of state funding and rising operations costs, Azaiez said school districts are put into difficult positions when it comes to

All four propositions will be on the Nov. 5 ballot along with three trustee positions. The district ratified its fiscal year 2024-25 tax rate of $0.8931 in September, which includes a 1.5-cent decrease to the debt service rate, as well as a decrease of just over one cent to the maintenance and operations rate. If passed, the bonds will not result in an increase or decrease in the current tax rate, district officials said. Tax impact $0.8931 FY 2024-25 tax rate per $100 home valuation $3,422 in taxes for a median home valued $383,201 0% tax rate impact for FY 2024-25 from passage or failure of bonds

As the largest bond package ever proposed by the district, the $998 million has prompted strong reactions from the RRISD community. Jill Farris, a district parent who participated on the citizens bond committee and previously ran for a board seat in 2022, said she would have preferred a bond amount closer to $600 million, but was not altogether against the proposal. District parent and substitute nurse Natalie Bogue said she is generally in support of all four propositions. As a resident of 20 years, Bogue said the timing and size of the bond feels proportional to the level of growth in Round Rock. “It’s just time for a lot of these things to be updated,” she said. Place 7 trustee Danielle Weston, however, said that families who are already struggling would be further burdened by the bonds. “I think the bond that’s being asked for here is too large, given these economic circumstances,” Weston said.

Local $259,039,642

State $99,183,565

Federal $3,100,000

Proposition C: $8.6 million • Fine arts improvements and upgrades

FY 2024-2025 • Enrollment: 46,485 • Total: $466M*

Local $410,889,499

State $52,153,000

Federal $3,006,000

Proposition D: $65.9 million • Upgrading competition fields to turf and improving locker rooms • Building a standalone multipurpose athletic facility

*THE DISTRICT WILL PAY AN ESTIMATED $19.9 MILLION BACK TO THE STATE DUE TO RECAPTURE.

A bond is a way for a school district to borrow money from investors to fund capital projects.

budgeting for positions and performing mainte- nance. Azaiez said an influx of bond dollars would allow the district to better distribute its mainte- nance and operations funds, as the majority of the money would go to replacing large-scale items, such as ventilation systems and roofs.

Total $998.1M

B D C

SOURCE: ROUND ROCK ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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NORTH 620 10601 N FM 620 (512) 506-8316

ARBORETUM 10515 North Mopac Expressway (512) 342-6893

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Education Education Guide

BY HANNAH NORTON

2024

Readers, welcome to your annual CI Education Edition! This guide features the latest updates and resources about local K-12 public school options in your community, ranging from new campuses to budget details to bond elections. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—please show them your gratitude by supporting them.

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What's inside

Expert breaks down budget issues for districts (Page 22)

PfISD’s new superintendent outlines district goals (Page 24)

RRISD to use grant funding for window safety film (Page 25)

For relevant news and daily updates, subscribe to our free email newsletter!

TEA once again blocked from issuing A-F ratings for Texas public schools

The A-F accountability system The TEA’s accountability system was established by the 2017 Texas Legislature based on a variety of factors, including:

The annual State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness

For the second year in a row, a Travis County judge blocked the Texas Education Agency from releasing its A-F accountability ratings for Texas school districts and campuses Sept. 18. The case echoes a 2023 lawsuit from over 100 school districts, which alleged the TEA’s revamped accountability system was “unlawful” and would unfairly harm school districts. The agency was set to release ratings for the 2023-24 school year on Aug. 15. In a lawsuit filed Aug. 12, five public school dis- tricts said the TEA has not been transparent about changes to its accountability system and failed to fix “mistakes” made last year. An additional 27 districts have since joined the lawsuit. A TEA spokesperson told Community Impact the agency plans to appeal; however, the injunction will remain in effect unless an appeals court issues

a new ruling, according to court documents. More details Texas’ A-F system, designed in 2017, gives parents insight about the quality of their children’s school. If a campus or district receives a failing grade for several years in a row, the state can intervene. Districts have not received complete A-F ratings since 2019. In 2022, schools that received a C or lower were deemed “not rated” as they recovered from significant learning loss from the COVID-19 pandemic. Accountability ratings were not issued at all in 2020 or 2021. The STAAR test—which the state redesigned to feature more open-ended questions and be administered fully online—has become a “flawed assessment instrument” that the TEA failed to verify by a third party, according to the lawsuit.

Academic growth

High school graduation rates

Student preparedness for college, a career or the military

SOURCE: TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT

Travis County Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle sided with the plaintiffs in blocking the ratings for the 2023-24 school year after hearing oral arguments from the TEA and districts involved in the case Sept. 16-17. A full trial has been set for Feb. 10.

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Education

Bob Popinski discusses Texas public school funding challenges Amid high operating costs and stagnant state funding, public school districts across Texas have adopted budget shortfalls for fiscal year 2024-25. Last year, public education advocates urged law- makers to increase the basic allotment—which is the base amount of money schools receive per student annually and has not changed since 2019, when it was raised to $6,160. Community Impact interviewed Bob Popinski, the senior policy director for education policy nonprofit Raise Your Hand Texas, to learn more. How are Texas public schools funded? Right now, Texas is in the bottom 10 [states] for per-student funding. We’re more than $4,000 below the national average, according to a new National Education Association report.

[Texas uses] what is known as an equalized system, where the Legislature sets the amount of per-student funding and a district is guaranteed that amount. [District] revenue comes from local property taxes and general revenue from the state. On average, when you look at per-student fund- ing across the state, the funding that actually gets down into the classrooms—that pays for day-to-day operations like teachers and cafeteria workers and bus drivers and school principals—is roughly $10,000 per student, on average, across the state. Why are so many districts facing high budget shortfalls? Since 2019, the last time we saw any increase to our school funding formulas, inflation has gone up 22%. School districts are operating at roughly a $1,400 deficit from where they were in 2019. When you look at the basic allotment—[which is] kind of the building block for our school funding formula—it’s at $6,160, and that hasn’t been updated since 2019. Federal stimulus funding is ending. And school districts knew that, ... but it doesn’t mean that

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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

BY HANNAH NORTON

were about 24 recommendations in there. A lot of them focused on salary; a lot focused on training and retention of teachers. School districts are struggling to find certified teachers. In the 2022-23 school year, approxi- mately 15,300 teachers were hired in Texas with- out certification. That’s a drastic increase, about a 650% increase, from 2010. And it’s especially acute in rural and small towns, where nearly 75% of teachers were uncertified. Research shows [hiring uncertified teachers] can have negative consequences on academic achieve- ment. If you have a new teacher that doesn’t have the skills to be ready on day one, obviously your kids aren’t going to be achieving where you want them to be. It’s also causing high turnover. Only about 37% of uncertified teachers are still teaching after five years.

the post-pandemic student achievement loss has gone away. There’s still a lot of programs that are in place to help students with their academic progress that school districts would like to con- tinue, but because that federal stimulus funding is going away, it may not be available to them. In addition to those two major driving factors, there are some school districts out there experi- encing enrollment decline. Think of it this way: if every student draws down about $10,000 to pay for teachers, and you lose 10 kids, that is $100,000 that the school district doesn’t have to pay for a teacher salary. But you still have to have a teacher in the classroom, and you still have to have a bus driver, and you still have to be able to turn the lights and the air conditioning on. So those are big, kind of fixed costs that a school district doesn’t necessarily control. What kind of staffing issues are schools facing, and what can the state do to help? The state needs to implement a lot of the recom- mendations that came from the Teacher Vacancy Task Force report that was issued last year. There

Per-student spending On average, Texas public school districts spent $13,109 per student for the 2022-23 school year. Texas ranks 44th for per-student expenditures out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Arkansas

$13,516

#42

Alabama

$13,484

#43

Texas

$13,109

#44

Arizona

$12,837

#45

Florida

$12,815

#46

Tennessee

$12,476

#47

Nevada

$12,246

#48

Oklahoma

$11,928

#49

Utah

$11,146

#50

#51 Idaho

$9,808

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com .

The national average for per-student expenditures is $17,493 annually.

SOURCE: NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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Education

BY BRITTANY ANDERSON & GRACE DICKENS

In the last year, four Austin metro school districts—Austin, Georgetown, Hutto and Pflugerville ISDs—hired new superintendents, a process that can be costly and time- consuming but necessary to the success of a district, according to school officials. PfISD’s search began in December 2023, following the resignation of Doug Killian, who served the district for six years. The PfISD board of trustees partnered with firm Thomas & Horton to conduct the search. Three focus groups were held in February to gauge the community’s thoughts throughout the process. The PfISD board of trustees hired Quintin Shepherd from Victoria ISD in April, and Shepherd is putting his vision for the district in motion with a listening and learning tour. PfISD leader outlines future

Zooming in

Shepherd has nearly two decades of super- intendent experience, most recently serving as superintendent in Victoria ISD for six years. He also worked as an elementary and high school principal, and as a pre-K-12 music teacher in both rural and urban communities. “Each of those experiences have taught me something,” Shepherd said. “I’ve learned some- thing [and] drawn something out from each of those communities ... in each of those school districts, and I see bits and pieces of everything in Pflugerville.” The cornerstone of Shepherd’s new role is his 100-day entry plan, Discovering Pflugerville, to listen and learn from community members, assess current systems and programs in place, and build a “community-centric culture.”

The plan Shepherd’s 100-day entry plan includes: An online thought exchange to

crowdsource the district’s strengths and challenges Visiting with faculty and staff at each campus

Hosting student focus groups

Holding town hall meetings with community members

Establishing the board of trustees as a cohesive leadership team

Looking ahead

Shepherd’s next steps September 2024: Community members will continue to participate in online thought exchange. October 2024: Listening and learning tour will culminate, and the strategic plan will begin to be built out.

Hiring Pflugerville ISD’s new superintendent

Part of Shepherd’s ongoing 100-day entry plan is an online thought exchange. Over 4,000 partici- pants had shared 2,300 thoughts on the exchange as of Aug. 19. Because participants can react to each other’s thoughts, the exchange has had over 61,000 points of interaction. Shepherd said the entry plan will wrap up this fall, which is when a community group will be formed to reflect on the exchange, put the results into groups of “findings” with a series of directions and then send the results to administrative teams who will begin to build out the strategic plan.

applicants

candidates interviewed

4 spent on the search $31.7K

community input opportunities

February 2025

Basic draft of strategic plan will be shared.

March 2025

SOURCE: PFLUGERVILLE ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT

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Education

BY BRITTANY ANDERSON & BROOKE SJOBERG

Round Rock ISD will use nearly $1 million in grant funding to install forced-entry resistant window film at several campuses RRISD to use grant funding for safety film in the coming months. What you need to know In accordance with Texas Administrative Code 61.031, which guides safety require- ments for windows on the ground level near exterior doors determined to be of a size and position that would allow an intruder to enter the campus by breaking them, RRISD trustees approved the use of $908,642.56 to purchase and install the film Aug. 15. Campuses that have facilities meeting the criteria outlined in the TAC will receive the window film. About the program During the 88th Texas Leg- islative session, lawmakers

Brushy Creek Elementary School Redbud Elementary School Round Rock Opportunity Center CD Fulkes Middle School Success High School Window upgrades Schools receiving the window film include:

Round Rock High School Cedar Ridge High School Westwood High School McNeil High School Stony Point High School

SOURCE: ROUND ROCK ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT

allocated $800 million in funds to go toward meeting new safety standards, such as the force-re- sistant window film, through the Safety and Facility Enhance- ments grant. Per the Texas Education Agency, RRISD has received over $1.22 million in funds through this grant for safety improve- ments. For more information on safety measures, parents can contact the Round Rock ISD Police Department.

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$7.5M grant to develop training for semiconductor programs at ACC

Austin Community College officials announced a $7.5 million grant awarded from the U.S. Department of Defense will go toward the college’s efforts to develop and expand its semicon- ductor training programs. The background Last fall, ACC launched its Semiconductor Technician Advanced Rapid Start program. The program offers training for students to transition into

manufacturing technician roles. In March, ACC officials announced a partnership with The University of Texas and the Texas Institute for Electronics to create a semiconductor training center, which could open by January. The $7.5 million grant was awarded to UT and TIE, which distributed the funds to ACC. In total, the partnership has amassed $11.25 million in fund- ing to ACC.

An independent private school offering preschool through eighth grade

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