Austin Independent School District (ISD) has adopted a budget of $887 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget includes $1.48 billion in revenue from Austin taxpayers and $630 million sent to the state through recapture. To close the projected $181 million shortfall, the district’s total reduction package now stands at $205 million in gross cuts, or a net $192 million once new costs like teacher pay raises are factored in.

Changes in the Budget

The reductions impacted more than 500 positions districtwide. Other changes include a 2% pay reduction for designated central office staff, stipends narrowed to those tied directly to work supporting students and families, and teacher planning periods reduced to the state minimum of one per day at some campuses.

The board spent more than three hours debating how to restore full-time librarians after a proposal earlier this year would have cut some positions to part-time. An amendment that passed restores one full-time librarian per campus by temporarily drawing $1.1 million from the fund balance.

Tax Rate Vote

The proposed tax rate is $0.9184 per $100 of property valuation—$0.7954 for maintenance and operations, $0.1230 for debt service. The estimated tax bill for the median Austin homeowner is projected to fall from $3,525 to $3,461 as declining property values offset the rate.

Original reporting: Community Impact — Austin — read the source article.