close
close

Apre-salomemanzo

Breaking: Beyond Headlines!

    • After Proposition A passes, Austin schools prepare to cut million
    aecifo

    After Proposition A passes, Austin schools prepare to cut $90 million

    Umito Posted on

    After Austin school district voters agreed last week to raise property tax rates to pump an additional $41 million into local schools, officials are preparing to tackle an estimated $90 million of dollars in budget cuts they expect to make through the end of the 2026-2027 school year. its deficit.

    Austin district leaders said that with the infusion of additional tax revenue, officials could avoid proposing larger, more ambitious budget cuts.

    Proposition A — which will increase property tax rates from 85.95 cents per $100 of property valuation to 95.95 cents — passed with about 58 percent support from school district voters.

    At a meeting Monday of an ad hoc district budget committee, members discussed ways to reduce contract costs and administrative spending to reduce the deficit and avoid campus cuts.

    Officials have already cut $29 million from the budget in the 2024-25 school year, which included eliminating 60 full-time positions in the central office and operational facilities. Many of these positions were vacant or were filled by departing workers.

    The district plans to spread an additional $90 million in possible budget cuts over the remainder of this school year and through the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.

    Committee members noted that the vast majority, about 86 percent, of the district’s budget goes toward payroll costs, according to the district.

    On Nov. 21, district staff members will present a proposed budget plan to the school board, and the school board could approve such a proposal as early as December.

    Since budget negotiations began months ago, district administrators have pledged to maintain budget cuts to classrooms and campuses as much and for as long as possible.

    During Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Matias Segura promised that any changes that could significantly alter staff members’ operations would not happen overnight and would be subject to a thorough vetting process.

    Segura also noted that his approach to solving the district’s financial problems comes with little to no expectation of state financial aid during the 2025 legislative session, which begins on January 14.

    Many local school officials are hoping state lawmakers will pump more money into public education funding next year, after many districts found themselves with budget shortfalls.

    Although the new voter-approved tax rate will raise a total of about $171 million, $130 million will go to the state under a decades-old program called reclamation. The program operates like a “Robin Hood,” taking tax revenue from districts that collect more than their state-determined education funding needs and redistributing it to those that collect less revenue than their determined needs by the state. The Austin district will keep $41 million.

    Umito
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like