AUSTIN (KXAN) — School districts across the state have had to make changes and cuts as many face budget deficits and Austin Independent School District is no stranger to these cuts.
The district will begin the year with a more than $19 million budget deficit to the general fund. The general fund helps cover teacher salaries and daily operational expenses.
Over the last several months many positions, programs and contracts have been cut to reduce the $120 million dollar deficit they were initially facing.
On Wednesday, the district, with support from the Austin Ed Fund, Congressman Lloyd Doggett and Mayor Kirk Watson met at Marshall Middle School where they kicked off the “Our Austin ISD” campaign.
The goal of the campaign is to celebrate and strengthen public education by inspiring action.
The district is urging community members to donate money, volunteer and share stories about how Austin ISD has impacted their lives.
“This is an opportunity for our community to voice support for our students and educators who are showing up everyday and working really, really hard with a lot of passion,” said Michelle Wallis with the Austin Ed Fund.
Uncertainty ahead
AISD said it would receive $9 million in federal funding that was previously under extended review, according to a letter sent out by Austin ISD Superintendent Matias Segura.
The district expected to receive the funding July 1, before the delay. In the letter, Segura said the federal government committed to releasing the funds July 25.
AISD said the funds would help continue to support programming and staff positions across the district, including multi-lingual support and after-school programs. However, the district said there would still be changes.
“While this news provides short-term stability, it also requires us to plan thoughtfully for the future, as we anticipate potential funding reductions in upcoming years,” Segura said.
The district said it would eliminate positions at the end of the fall semester in anticipation of future funding losses.
“These decisions are not made lightly, and we’re encouraged by some of our affected staff already choosing to move to campus-based positions,” Segura said.
AISD said the $9 million in funding would allow for multilingual education, ACE Austin enrichment programs and AVID programs to continue.