Austin ISD has released its recommended budget for the 2026-2027 school year that includes cuts to reduce the district’s $181 million deficit. The draft directly affects 558 positions across the district, including teachers, librarians, counselors and central office staff, among others.

In a written announcement to the community, Superintendent Matias Segura said employees with teaching certifications are guaranteed a job. That’s not the case for non-certified staff. Segura said the district is working to find “qualifying roles” for non-certified staff, but it’s likely that in many instances, people would lose their jobs.

“While we have found alternative placements for the majority of affected positions, some of our colleagues will be leaving the district, and we are committed to supporting them through this transition,” Segura said. “Others will see changes in their compensation and those who remain will inevitably carry a heavier lift to maintain the Austin ISD standard of excellence.”

Along with those staffing cuts, the district’s plan would also bring in an estimated $60 million from selling or monetizing four AISD properties. Changes to campuses, including reducing planning periods and increasing the student-to-teacher ratio and cutting librarians, will help save $31 million. Central office budgets will also see cuts of around $17 million.

AISD is closing 11 schools this summer to save $21 million. Segura said those closures helped avoid making “more painful cuts.” He said the Texas Legislature only approved a fraction of the funding required to keep up with inflationary costs in the 2025 legislative session. Earlier this week, AISD parents and teachers urged legislators to increase funding for public education when they return to Austin in 2027.

Campus impacts

150 positions across middle schools and high schools would be impacted by the previously announced move to cut teacher planning time. Some teachers will be reduced to one period, while others will keep two. Teachers have previously spoken out against this measure, saying it will not give them enough time to properly serve their students.

Elementary teachers will face two changes. The district had already announced it would increase the student-to-teacher ratio to save $6.5 million, a move that would affect more than 50 positions. On top of that, the new plan reduces planning time for those teachers to save another $6.3 million. The change would affect another 79 positions. With it, some elementary teachers will go back to having just one planning period, reducing the amount of time students get for art, physical education and music.

Librarians at campuses with fewer than 400 students will be cut to a part-time position. Librarians were informed about the move last week, during the last days of school, and after the district said they wouldn’t be affected by the cuts. Reducing the number of librarians would help AISD save $897,000.

To save $2.1 million, the district will also reduce the number of counselors per school by changing the system that was used to determine how many counselors a school can have. Now, every elementary school will have at least one certified counselor, middle schools with over 350 students will have two counselors, and high schools will have three. The district will also reduce the number of assistant principals to save $1.2 million.

As previously announced, the district will also use a new criteria to determine Bilingual Education and Special Education stipends. The change that would help the district save less than $2 million has sparked backlash from educators, months after the district’s special education program came out of state oversight.

Changes to the way substitutes are contracted would help save more than $4 million. The changes would reduce the number of positions eligible to be covered by a substitute, prioritizing roles that have a direct impact on students. There would also be a new incentive plan for teacher and librarian substitutes.

Transportation

The draft plan also includes changes to transportation. Middle and high school students would move to a new transportation model that would help save $2.4 million. A new hub model would have students picked up and dropped off at their neighborhood elementary school, instead of at specific stops. Late-night activity buses will also be discontinued, helping save $1 million. The plan also includes expanding AISD’s partnership with Cap Metro for students to use public transportation.

District-wide transportation for Campbell Elementary School, Eastside Early College, High School, Gus Garcia YMLA, Sadler Means YWKA, and for Montessori students will be discontinued. Students assigned to these schools who live two or more miles away will still be able to access AISD transportation. Transportation to and from the Alternative Learning Center will also end. These two changes together will save $933,000.

Changes to transportation for magnet programs, including Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, Kealing Magnet School, Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School and Kealing and Lively Magnet schools are still to be determined. The district is considering moving to a partial fee model, in which some families would have to pay for their kids to be taken to school.

Additional cuts

Last year AISD laid off 20% of the central office staff. The new draft budget includes eliminating vacancies and cell phone stipends, rescaling districtwide celebrations and professional development, and reducing travel stipends and overtime across all departments.

The AISD Police Department will see cuts of around $5 million. Officers will be required to buy their own firearms and some of police officers will be replaced with armed security that meets state licensing and training requirements.

The Operations Department would see cuts worth $9.8 million that include reducing funding for campus construction and repairs, among other things, beyond bond projects.

The district will also reduce the contribution they make to employee health benefits, and will renegotiate health benefits with the current provider. The change would save $4 million. An updated benefit plan is expected to be shared in October.

What comes next

Staff who are either losing their job or having their job changed due to cuts were already informed by the district during the last weeks of the school year. Segura said Tuesday that employees who are affected by pay cuts, either by stipend changes or reduced work days, will receive information outlining the changes in the coming weeks.

The budget is set to be presented to the board of trustees during an information meeting on Thursday, June 4th. The board will vote on a final budget on June 18.