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2022 Bond Update: Breaking ground on the future of Austin ISD

This Spring, Austin ISD celebrated the first completed project as part of the 2022 Bond!

• Odom Elementary School hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for their brand-new learning spaces with remarks from district leadership and student performances.

• We also broke ground on seven modernization projects — LBJ ECHS, Langford ES, Oak Springs ES, McCallum HS, Anderson HS, Northeast ECHS & International HS and Martin MS.

Zoom In: Construction is underway on 10 modernization projects across the district.

• Check out the construction footage from the Travis ECHS, Wooten ES and Harris ES projects.

More information: 36 schools are receiving secure entry vestibules over the summer to improve student and staff safety on campus.

• After this summer, we will have completed all of the secure entry vestibule projects included in the 2022 Bond!

What’s Next: The three remaining open-concept renovation projects at Cook ES, Oak Hill ES and Williams ES will be completed this summer ahead of the start of the 2025-26 school year.

• Big things are coming later this year, with the full modernizations at Allison ES, Harris ES and Wooten ES estimated to open in January.

Go Deeper: To learn more about the projects planned at a specific campus, check out the 2022 Bond Book or find your school on the Bond projects list.

• You can also submit questions and feedback through the questions & comments form at AISDFuture.com.

Last week we shared high-level details on the Gibson Audit , which looked at Austin ISD spending and cost-savings opportunities. We're back to dig into the report more and outline how we're using the audit moving forward.

Why it matters : As the district faces a $110 million deficit, this independent audit helped reinforce the work already underway.

What you need to know : While audits usually have findings or recommendations, this audit intentionally provided opportunities for the district to consider. These opportunities include high-level math that does not consider the intricate details to implement the ideas.

• Because of that, the cost-savings figures, totaling $63.1 million, should be taken with a grain of salt since more work is needed to find more accurate savings figures associated with each option.

The details : School consolidations is the top cost-savings opportunity outlined in the audit. As part of their calculation, the audit looked at 49 schools with a population less than 500 students for an elementary school and 750 for a middle school, however, those benchmarks were chosen arbitrarily.

• Closing 49 schools is not a realistic number or standard for the district.
• Instead, the district will take the audit's findings and examine how a school closure would reduce expenditures and the budget deficit.
• Other options include disposal of portables across the district, cost recovery from nutrition services, optimizing master scheduling and reducing senior management positions.

What they're saying : “All the other opportunities besides school consolidation are things we've worked on and progressed already,” Superintendent Matias Segura said. “We have put a considerable amount of time and energy into how to (implement these cost-savings) and how to do it well.”

What's next : District leaders will continue working to balance the budget and explore cost-savings options. For consolidations, leaders will work with the community to develop a process and tool to assess which campuses may be candidates for consolidations and the values ​​that will drive those decisions.

• We'll continue following budget processes and keep you in the loop along the way.

Audit Highlights Cost-Saving Opportunities Amid $110 Million Budget Shortfall

Last week, we shared a high-level of detail about the Gibson audit , which analyzed Austin ISD’s spending and cost-saving opportunities. We’re back to dive deeper into the report and describe how we’re using the audit to move forward.

Why It Matters : With the district facing a $100 million shortfall, this independent audit helped reinforce the work already underway.

What You Should Know : While audits typically have findings or recommendations, this audit intentionally provided opportunities for the district to consider. These opportunities include higher-level math that doesn’t consider the complex details when implementing ideas.

• Therefore, the cost savings figures, which total $63.1 million, should be taken with caution, as more work is needed to find more precise savings figures for each option.

The Details : School consolidations are the primary cost-saving opportunity outlined in the audit. As part of its calculations, the audit analyzed 49 schools with fewer than 500 students at the elementary level and 750 at the secondary level, but those benchmarks were chosen arbitrarily.

• Closing 49 schools is not a realistic number or standard for the district.
• Instead, the district will take the audit findings and examine how a school closure would reduce expenses and the budget deficit.
• Other options include scrapping portable buildings across the district, recovering nutrition services costs, streamlining master schedules, and reducing high-ranking administrative positions.

What they're saying : "All the other opportunities other than school consolidation are things we've been working on and are already in progress," said Superintendent Matias Segura. "We've invested a considerable amount of

time and energy on how (to implement these cost savings) and how to do it well."

What's next? District leaders will continue working to balance the budget and explore cost-saving options. Regarding consolidations, leaders will work with the community to create a process and tool to evaluate which schools might be candidates for consolidations and the values ​​that will guide those decisions.

• We will continue to monitor the budget process and keep you informed throughout.

We’re back with another budget update! When we last checked in, we shared that the district was working to tackle a $92 million deficit over three years. 

Since then we’ve gotten new information from the Travis Central Appraisal District that means we could be facing a budget deficit between $105–121 million for the 2025–26 school year.

Why it matters: A bigger budget deficit means our savings will run out faster if we don't reduce spending — so we’ll have to make deeper cuts sooner than we’d expected.

How we got here: Austin ISD relies on estimates from the Travis Central Appraisal District to forecast how much revenue we can expect from local property taxes — our primary funding source. 

• When we first began forecasting funding for the 2025–26 school year back in the fall, TCAD estimated that Travis County property values would remain flat. 
• TCAD now anticipates they will go down by about 9–11%, which could amount to a loss of tens of millions in expected revenue.

Yes, and…The budget deficit continues to be a moving target as we grapple with higher costs than anticipated in areas such as special education and facility repairs.

• That’s why we’re implementing a districtwide hiring freeze, excluding special education staff, to reduce spending for the current year, effective March 1.

So now what? Previously discussed reduction strategies remain on the table as the district continues to reduce the current year deficit. 

• The district has already cut roughly $60 million from the budget in the 2024-25 school year, which includes eliminating Central Office positions, reducing service contracts and operational efficiencies across the district. 

• We’re now at the point where we must consider options that will have a direct impact on campuses such as eliminating programs and reviewing staffing levels. 

• The board is also exploring selling real estate for a one time, cash infusion.

We're keeping an eye on the state legislature, which has multiple school funding bills under consideration, though it's too early to tell what impacts those might have on our budget.

Get involved: This district is hosting a series of community and staff budget conversations in the coming months:

• Next up is Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m. via Zoom
• View the full schedule

Go deeper… with the presentation of the fiscal forecast to the board