A highly-anticipated summary of cuts from Austin ISD leaders on Tuesday provided few new details about classroom changes next year as the district grapples with a yawning budget deficit.
Campus-level changes are set to phase in over the next two school years, the district said in the summary of potential cuts. All Austin ISD schools under a state-mandated improvement plan and those with D or F ratings under the state’s academic accountability system will see little change next year.
Meanwhile, elementary campuses with passing ratings will see an increase in class sizes next year, and teachers at those campuses will move to a single planning period the following year. Teachers of non-foundational courses at middle and high school campuses with passing ratings will be assigned to teach seven of eight periods next year, a change that will expand to include all courses the following year.
In a letter to families and staff, Superintendent Matias Segura suggested there would be layoffs. However, it’s unclear how many educators or other school employees would lose their jobs. Principals and department leads will meet with affected staff by mid-May. Librarian and counselor positions will not be cut, Austin ISD said. However, bilingual and special education stipends will now be tiered depending on position and qualification requirements, according to the proposal.
“As we evaluated the potential reductions, our decision-making was driven by the student and family experience, especially at campuses with the highest need,” Superintendent Matias Segura said in a statement Tuesday.
The announcement comes just weeks after Austin ISD leaders projected the current budget deficit, which is expected to reach $49 million by June, could reach $181 million by the end of next school year if left unchecked. While district leaders initially vowed to keep cuts out of the classroom, by April they said the steep shortfall and a budget primarily composed of salaries made classroom-level cuts inevitable. The cuts proposed Tuesday would save the district $33.9 million at the campus level, though deeper cuts may be needed, Segura said in his statement. The proposed cuts will inform a preliminary budget for the next school year, set to be released later this month for board member approval in June.
The growing deficit comes as the district grapples with less funding tied to a steep enrollment decline and steadily decreasing property taxes. District leaders have recently weighed cost-cutting scenarios that include cutting teachers, decreasing teacher planning time, and reducing stipends for areas such as special education shortly after exiting years of state oversight due to special education violations. A suggestion to move librarians into campus support roles brought immediate community backlash.
More than $73 million will be cut from central office and department budgets, which include eliminating vacant positions. The district also expects to earn $45 million from its property, the announcement said. Additional cuts will be made to the central office. The district will also review a long list of other departments, including athletics, fine arts, technology, and transportation, for potential cuts.
Community input was sought for the budget process through a community survey and community meetings held in-person and virtually. The last scheduled community meeting is May 9. Feedback and the student experience played a pivotal role in planning the proposed changes, Segura said in his announcement.
Education Austin President Ken Zarifis said the employee union sees Tuesday’s announcement as progress but it is still not enough. He said the union remains committed to preserving current teacher-student ratios and retaining campus support staff, librarians, and teacher planning time.
Zarifis said following a conversation Tuesday with Segura on the preliminary plans, there is no getting away from job losses, but how many and where those cuts will happen remains to be seen. He said Tuesday’s proposals reflect adjustments in line with what the union called for in April and hopes further action will lead to a better final budget, adding he feels encouraged by the district administration’s efforts.
“It is not perfect,” Zarifis said. “We are far from that, but compared to where we were at two weeks ago, we are in a much better place than we were. We still have some room to go. We can’t stay here.”
During last month’s board meetings, Segura and Austin ISD Chief Financial Officer Katrina Montgomery reiterated to board members that, for years, the district has spent more money than it has available. They said cuts at the classroom level are now necessary, given that salaries make up more than 80% of the district’s budget.
At the time, board members debated how cuts would affect the district’s academic goals. Multiple members advocated for more conservative projections on property values and enrollment, even if that meant deeper cuts.
District leaders also offered assurance that campus improvement plans and specific campus needs would be considered in planning and allocating cuts. Board members approved state-mandated school improvement plans for two dozen struggling campuses in November. At the time, board members also voted to close 10 campuses to address the budget shortfall.
Segura has said no more schools will close ahead of a district-wide boundary change expected later this year.
Last June, Austin ISD board members passed a budget with a $19 million deficit that is projected to grow by $30 million by June due to the loss of more than 3,000 students, increased costs, lower property taxes and a thwarted property sale, which have all contributed to the current financial crisis.
