BY ELLE BENT
Reasons parents told Community Impact they chose charter schools for their kids
What it means
Smaller class sizes
College readiness
for everybody in the class to get on the same page so they can move on together,” Moyes said. However, Moyes said she chose to stay in AISD to receive special education services, which she felt would not be the case in a charter school. AISD parent Laurie Solis has two students in the district and another that graduated. Solis says she could consider a charter or private school for her kids, but the community at AISD and social emo- tional learning are reasons she stays. “Every one of my children I feel are thriving personally, academically [and] emotionally,” Solis said. “I feel like that's because AISD has always been ahead of what they need to prioritize.”
Families consider different educational paths for a variety of reasons. Austin parent Drea Mastromatteo is exploring charter schools for her neurodivergent son as she fears the AISD school he is zoned for would not provide him with resources to succeed. Blanca Martinez, community outreach specialist for NYOS Charter School, said the biggest “pluses” to attending include the flexibility for teachers and diversity. She said students receive two recesses and academically move at their own pace. AISD parent Janell Moyes said she considered charter school for her fourth and sixth grade kids for the benefits Martinez highlighted. “A lot of time in public education is spent waiting
More physical engagement
Personalized academic pace
Specialized programming
Community and diversity
“A lot of time in [traditional] public education is spent waiting for everybody in the class to literally get on the same page so they can move on together.” JANELL MOYES, AISD PARENT
Going forward
basic allotment would need to be closer to $7,100 per student. Other financial strains include COVID-19 stimulus funding expiring and an increase in school safety requirements. “It is a mixture of so many things and not just enrollment into charter schools increasing, although that is a big issue for Austin ISD,” Popinski said.
2019 as a financial constraint. “The Legislature has chosen not to increase public education funding,” Segura said. “And so when we did agree to the $52 million deficit [for fiscal year 2023-24], there were certain things that were unknown at that point.” Popinski said to keep up with inflation, the
Ramos said for fiscal year 2024-25, officials hope to slow the enrollment decline by following up with families who have transferred out and tackling the projected $60 million budget deficit. At a board meeting Feb. 23, AISD Superintendent Matias Segura pointed to the basic student allotment not increasing since
Financial loss Austin ISD officials are in the preliminary stages of drafting the fiscal year 2024-25 budget. While officials will aim to make $30 million in cuts, exact figures are not yet known.
in funding lost out on from 2022-23 academic year transfers $84.66 MILLION*
budget shortfall predicted for FY 2024-25 $60 MILLION
in cuts to software, service contracts and staffing would bring the shortfall to $30 million $30 MILLION
*ACTUAL NUMBER WOULD VARY BASED ON ATTENDANCE
SOURCE: AUSTIN ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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