EDUCATION BRIEFS
News from Austin Community College & Austin ISD
COMPILED BY GLORIE MARTINEZ
HIGHLIGHTS AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE During its first in- person spring commencement since 2019 on May 13, Austin Community College celebrated a record number of graduates. Combined with the almost 3,400 graduates who were recognized at fall commencement in December, ACC recognized 7,080 graduate candidates this academic year. AUSTIN ISD Members of Austin ISD’s employees union Education Austin advocated for higher wages for the district’s classified employees at a school board meeting April 28. AISD’s preliminary budget for next school year includes increasing bus drivers’ minimum wage to $21 an hour and raising base pay for all classified employees to $16 an hour. Education Austin members urged the board to further increase teacher raises and adopt a $20 per hour minimum wage for all classified employees.
Report identifies issues in special education program AUSTIN ISD On May 10, trustees heard a presentation on a third-party assessment from Stetson and Associates that identified issues and possible solutions within Austin ISD’s special education services. AISD has not met minimum academic standards for stu- dents with disabilities in the last four years. There are nearly 10,000 AISD students with disabilities. Despite spending double the state average per student and having a comparatively low student-teacher ratio, Frances Stetson of Stetson and Associates said AISD struggled with incon- sistent vision and practices. “If there’s no clear vision, there’s no mission; there’s no accomplishment of the goals of the organization,” Stenson said.
BALANCING THE BUDGET
Recapture 50.3%
Payroll cost 43%
As Austin ISD struggles to balance its budget amid declining enrollment, less than half of taxpayers’ dollars actually go to AISD’s budget. The rest goes to recapture.
$1.68 BILLION
Purchase and contracted services 3.8%
Other operations 1%
Supplies 1.8%
SOURCE: AUSTIN ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Austin ISD to owe $846M in recapture
AUSTIN ISD Record increases in Travis County property values drove up Austin ISD’s expected recapture payment from $800 million to $846 million, according to the district. Recapture refers to Texas legislation that requires property-rich school dis- tricts, such as AISD, to pay a portion of locally collected property tax revenue to the state, which then distributes the funds to property-poor districts.
Due to rising property values, AISD has the highest recapture payment of all districts in the state—more than Houston, Plano and Midland, the next three highest-paying districts, combined. The district also faces declining enrollment, which reduces the district’s income. Less than half of every dollar collected from Austin taxpayers goes to AISD.
MEETINGS WE COVER
Austin ISD Meets June 9 at 5:30 p.m. 4000 S. I-35, Austin www.austinisd.org
TWO LOCATIONS
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION • MAY 2022
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