Education
BY ELLE BENT
AISD officials working around budget deficit As Austin ISD officials plan for the fiscal year 2024-25, district officials are working amid a projected budget shortfall. Current situation Superintendent Matias Segura said that because the basic student allotment—the amount school districts receive from the state based on student enrollment and attendance—did not increase this year and hasn’t since 2019, cuts would have to be made alongside any proposed budget increases for fiscal year 2024-25. The basic allotment is currently at $6,160. AISD officials say current enrollment is at 72,800, with a 92% attendance rate. Going forward with budget planning district officials will keep the following in mind: • Lowering the 20% fund balance would be “risky” due to decreasing enrollment
ACC proposes free tuition program
The district is working to lessen the deficit through the following: Decreasing the deficit Vacancy savings, or costs saved by a staff position that is not filled
Austin Community College officials are working toward the potential launch of a free tuition program. The overview The proposal would create a zero-cost tuition program for high school seniors who graduate from local school districts and those who have completed General Educa- tion Development, or GED. If the proposal is approved by the board of trustees, set to be voted on April 1, eligible students could qualify for up to five years of free tuition beginning this fall. The program would include Credit and Continuing Education courses and would be paid for with funds already available within ACC’s budget in addition to state appropria- tions from House Bill 8.
Managing overtime expenses Monitoring contract expenses Interest earnings
SOURCE: AUSTIN ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
• Adopting a shortfall greater than $30 million would put the district at risk of going below the fund balance in FY 2026-27, but decreasing the projected shortfall to $25 million or less would require multiple budget cuts What’s next? This spring, district officials will propose investments and potential cuts, such as staff, for the FY 2024-25 budget as it is being drafted. The AISD board of trustees will vote on the budget in June.
UT reinstates standardized test scores for applicants
The breakdown
About 73,000 freshmen applied for the fall 2024 semester. Of these: 42% asked to have test scores considered in their application 49% within the top 6% of their high school class asked to have test scores considered 55% of students who shared test scores in their application in 2023 were less likely to have a GPA lower than 2.0 in their first semester.
The University of Texas at Austin is requiring undergraduate applicants to submit standardized testing scores, when applying to the school after four years of test-optional admissions. The overview The university removed the requirement from applications in spring 2020, when testing availabil- ity became scarce due to the pandemic. Beginning
fall 2025, it will no longer be optional when applying for an undergraduate program. UT officials said that the reasoning behind reinstating the requirement is that students who submitted test scores, compared to those who did not, performed better academically in their first semester of college. The university will require a student’s ACT or SAT test scores for Aug. 1-Dec. 1 applications.
SOURCE: THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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