u/austin_current

What does the first day of school look like for Austin ISD students? Pretty different from last year. 

🏫 Eleven schools have closed, including one, Paredes Middle School, that shuttered just weeks ago. Thousands of affected students and their families are now finding their way to new schools. 

🚌 Many high school students are now going to “bus hubs” at centralized locations to catch a ride, rather than the usual neighborhood pickup. 

🏛️ Two schools received a fifth failing accountability rating, possibly triggering a state takeover. 

Check out our story for more. 
https://austincurrent.org/2026/08/18/austin-austinisd-back-to-school-takeover-closures-bus-hubs/

Austin ISD could be taken over by the state after two of its schools received a fifth failing accountability rating from the Texas Education Agency. 

➡️ Webb and Burnet middle schools both received an “F” rating
➡️ Dobie Middle School broke its streak of consecutive failing ratings and received a “D” rating 

📝 What do these grades this mean? 

The fifth failing ratings for Webb and Burnet middle schools trigger a state law requiring Education Commissioner Mike Morath to either close the schools or appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board. https://austincurrent.org/2026/08/13/austin-austinisd-tea-takeover-ratings-dobie-webb-burnet/ 

After months of debate over taxes, affordability and potential cuts to social services, the Austin City Council on Wednesday night approved a $6.6 billion budget.

For the owner of an average-value home, that means:

• $173 more in property taxes

• Higher trash, water and electric fees

• About $365 more in total annual taxes and fees

If voters approve the city's bond package this November, that total would exceed $400 annually.

The story also breaks down what was restored, what was cut and how council voted.

https://austincurrent.org/2026/08/12/austin-city-budget-taxes-texas/

Austin ISD parents pushed back and saw results. 

After families raised concerns about the school district’s plans to introduce a “bus hub” model that would leave some middle and high school students walking up to three miles or crossing dangerous roads, the district reversed course for middle schoolers. 

So why introduce bus hubs in the first place? 

The new transportation model is part of Austin ISD’s effort to close a historic budget shortfall through more than $205 million in cuts, which included just over $11 million saved from cuts to transportation. 

Read what changed, why the district says bus hubs are still necessary and what it means for high school students at the link in our bio. https://austincurrent.org/2026/08/07/austin-austinisd-bus-hubs-transportation-budget-cuts/

As families await the Texas Education Agency’s release of the 2025-26 school accountability ratings — just days away — many are asking the same questions: 

How are schools graded? What do those ratings actually measure? And if another failing rating triggers state intervention, what happens next? TEA on Aug. 14 is scheduled to release the new ratings, the state’s A-F measure of academic performance for schools and districts that has come under scrutiny. 

For Austin ISD, the upcoming ratings represent a pivotal milestone as three schools sit one failing rating away from triggering a state mandate requiring the Texas Education Commissioner to intervene. If any of three chronically failing middle schools campuses receive a fifth consecutive failed rating, state law would require action. But the ratings alone will not determine Austin ISD’s fate. Read on for what could happen next for Austin’s school district. https://austincurrent.org/2026/08/06/austin-austinisd-tea-school-ratings-texas/

The Austin City Council finalized a $295 million bond proposal that includes funding for parks and libraries, despite city financial staff recommending waiting two more years. 

As part of the proposal, $260 million would go to parks and $35 million to city libraries. If voters approve the proposal in November, it would cost the average taxpayer about $40 more in property tax annually.

“This bond proposal is small enough that it doesn’t require a major burden on taxpayers,” Council Member Mike Siegel said. “As to the affordability argument, city parks and recreational facilities offer some of the best opportunities for healthy activity at no cost or very low cost.” 

The vote ends about two years of debate over whether Austin should ask voters to approve a task increase to fund city projects after Prop Q failed last year. The council voted 8-3 on Tuesday to approve the proposal, with Mayor Kirk Watson and Council members José Velásquez and Marc Duchen opposing the measure. Read more about what council members and organization leaders are saying about the bond proposal. https://austincurrent.org/2026/08/04/austin-bond-election-texas-taxes-libraries-parks/

Austin City Council will vote Tuesday whether to place a bond election, which could total as much as $390 million,  on November’s ballot, bringing a two-year planning process to a close. 

If the election moves forward it could feature multiple propositions, including funding for parks and community facilities. Amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the election’s size and shape, park supporters say the election is crucial in bringing funding to aging facilities at risk of shutting down.

Others contend the city should delay the election until 2028 to show voters the city is serious about demonstrating fiscal restraint following the rejection of Prop Q last fall. As an alternative to a bond election, the city released a "bridge" scenario that could fund some pressing critical infrastructure projects between now and 2028.

Leadership “means being willing to say ‘not yet,’ especially when saying ‘yes’ would be politically easier in the moment,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in May.

Read more here. 

https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/31/austin-election-bond-city-hall-council-taxes/

Austin ISD trustees voted Thursday night to close Paredes Middle School after the proposal was announced only last week.

Superintendent Matias Segura said the recommendation was based on the school’s three consecutive failing state ratings, student academic growth and staffing vacancies. He told families he did not have confidence Paredes could improve enough during the coming school year to break the state accountability chain.

Parents strongly objected to the timing and said the sudden change could create academic and social challenges, particularly for students who need time and support to adjust to a new campus.

Students will be reassigned to Bailey or Mendez middle schools, and Paredes employees will be offered other positions in the district. TEA must still approve the closure before it becomes permanent.

Here’s our full report on the vote, the community’s response and what happens next: https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/30/austin-austinisd-paredes-middle-school-closure-tea-texas/

The Austin school district is making plans to close Paredes Middle School after district leaders concluded the campus is expected to receive a fourth consecutive failing accountability rating from the state for the 2025-26 school year, according to a statement posted Wednesday by employee union Education Austin. The decision comes just months after Superintendent Matias Segura pledged to avoid additional school closures. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/22/austin-austinisd-school-closure-paredes-middle-school/

With state accountability ratings expected next month, and the Austin school district’s latest effort to avoid potential state intervention now over, the district on Monday announced the end of its partnership with Texas Council for International Studies to manage three struggling middle schools.

Austin ISD and TCIS mutually agreed to end their partnership for the nonprofit to manage Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools, effectively ending the district’s monthslong bid to secure protections from state intervention through the state’s SB 1882 program. The Texas Education Agency in May rejected the proposal for SB 1882 partnership benefits, saying TCIS did not have a qualifying turnaround track record at other campuses and leaving the district without the accountability reprieve it sought.

If any of the three middle schools again receive failing ratings, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath would be required under state law to either close the schools or take over the district entirely. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/20/austin-isd-austinisd-texas-tea-dobie-webb-burnet-partnership/

Roberto López Falcón was detained last fall by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after reporting to what he believed would be a routine immigration check-in. 

One missed day became an entire school year. 

The Cuban national spent 297 days in detention while fighting deportation before he was released during the last week of June. He is now trying to get back into the classroom. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/20/austinisd-aisd-teacher-hart-detain-ice/

The Austin City Council took its first public look at a proposed $6.6 billion budget Thursday, providing members a chance to signal priorities for the coming weeks.

Some emphasized restoring cuts to social services. Others talked about more security for local parks and cuts to consulting contracts. But one word kept coming up: affordability.

The City Council’s deep dive into the budget comes at a time when money is tight because of sluggish growth, state-mandated caps on property taxes and the end of federal COVID money. Thursday’s meeting launches a focused sprint toward a plan to balance the city’s ideals against proposed cuts, higher taxes and fees. And they have less than a month to do it. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/16/austin-council-budget-taxes-parks-contracts/

Austin ISD leaders have approved more than $200 million in cuts for the 2026-27 school year, reshaping everything from staffing and transportation to classroom technology and extracurricular programs. The district now has a balanced budget, but many families are still trying to understand what changed, what was spared and what comes next.

The $205 million in reductions affect more than 500 positions, teacher planning time, bus service, stipends, technology and community partnerships, though the district preserved some programs, including librarians at every campus. 

Even with those reductions, the district enters the new school year with financial reserves at half the level typically required by board policy, raising questions about whether additional cuts and more school closures could follow to ensure a balanced budget in future school years. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/15/austin-isd-budget-cuts-schools-texas/

Less than a year after Austin voters rejected the Proposition Q property tax increase, city leaders are again confronting difficult spending decisions. 

A proposed $6.6 billion city budget released Friday night for the upcoming fiscal year calls for cuts to social service contracts, parks and public health programs, eliminates vacant positions across several departments and preserves funding for other priorities as the city continues to balance the budget. 

The city manager said the proposal is designed to focus on core services and quality of life investments, while meeting community needs without placing additional strain on taxpayers, even as the spending plan calls for higher property taxes for the average homeowner. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/10/austin-budget-taxes-cuts/

Austin ISD has charged dozens of parents, policy experts, journalists and other members of the public thousands of dollars in the past year for access to government records, raising concerns that the cost of obtaining information could keep residents from understanding how the district makes some of its most consequential decisions. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/13/austin-isd-aisd-public-records-fees-transparency/

As book bans surge across Texas and the country, Austin’s Library Commission is urging the City Council to take a formal stand against censorship by declaring the city a “Book Safe Harbor,” a move supporters say could strengthen protections for what remains on public library shelves. 

The proposal lands amid an intensifying political fight over who decides what people, especially children, can read. In Texas, battles over books have transformed school board meetings, county commissioners courts and the state Capitol into recurring flashpoints over race, gender identity and sexuality. https://austincurrent.org/2026/07/02/texas-legislature-austin-book-ban-libraries/

Big Sandy Creek sits a few miles east of Leander in the northwest corner of Travis County. The community was among the hardest hit outside the Kerrville area during the 2025 Independence Day floods. Ten died and dozens more lost homes, vehicles, livestock and family pets. 

To help clean up, repair damaged infrastructure and add additional safety measures following the catastrophic floods, Travis County Commissioners raised property taxes by 9.12%, a move that is expected to generate an additional $42 million in revenue. But nearly a year later, some survivors remain concerned that not enough has been done to address the area’s vulnerable infrastructure. https://austincurrent.org/2026/06/18/texas-travis-county-july-floods-legislature-recovery/

The Austin school district’s budget crisis is deepening faster than district leaders projected, with its deficit now climbing from $19 million to $95 million in less than a year and threatening to swell to $181 million by next summer if cuts are not made.

The fallout is already reaching classrooms and campuses. Trustees are expected to approve a budget later this month that will likely include cuts to hundreds of positions, including some librarians, while reducing spending on transportation, technology, policing and some districtwide arts and athletics programs. 

With the numbers still shifting, community members are trying to understand how the district got here and what happens next. Here is what we know. https://austincurrent.org/2026/06/18/austin-isd-deficit-budget-cuts/

Although Austin lost the battle to preserve the Black Artists Matter street mural on East 11th Street and the rainbow crosswalks on Fourth Street, city and community leaders are moving ahead with plans to commemorate the neighborhoods and residents the artwork helped celebrate.

“Black Artists Matter” was emblazoned across East 11th Street, while the crosswalk at the corner of Fourth and Colorado streets maintained a Pride-themed rainbow makeover for several years before Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas cities and counties to remove “political or ideological messages” from streets or face funding losses. 

Despite the loss, the city is moving forward with efforts to honor those districts’ histories, including executing a plan to install a historic marker on Fourth Street. https://austincurrent.org/2026/06/17/texas-austin-street-art-orders-rainbow-lgbt-blm/