Student support program scaling back at 25 Austin ISD campuses after budget cuts

Nonprofit Communities In Schools said it will no longer provide services at 25 Austin ISD campuses next school year after changes in the district’s approved budget.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austin ISD’s latest budget cuts are prompting changes for a student support program that has long served families across district campuses.

The nonprofit Communities In Schools of Central Texas said it will no longer be able to provide services at 25 Austin ISD campuses next school year, following changes tied to the district’s newly approved budget.

For 40 years, the organization has worked inside schools to connect students with academic, mental health and social support services, which leaders said is critical to student success.

“One of the things we have to understand is that before a student can learn how to do math and learn how to read, that they have to be well and healthy. And so that’s where we come in,” said Sharon Vigil, CEO of Communities In Schools of Central Texas.

Under Austin ISD’s proposed 2026-27 budget, changes to this program would result in about $1 million in budget reductions,  just one of many cuts that Austin ISD leaders said were necessary to address the district’s projected $181 million deficit.

Vigil called the decision difficult, while acknowledging the scale of the district’s financial challenges.

“I can’t lie, it was very disappointing,” she said. “But we also know that this was an impossible decision that the trustees had to make.”

Vigil said school districts typically cover about 30% of the program’s costs, with the remainder funded through a combination of city and county support, state funding and private philanthropy.

CIS estimates that more than 11,000 students could lose access to services next school year, a concern shared by parents like Austin ISD parent Giselle Valenzuela, who said she saw the program’s impact firsthand with her son.

“He came in, you know, around the sixth grade, he had experienced a traumatic event,” Valenzuela said. “He literally overnight just became like a completely different person. Like, suddenly, you know, the walls were up. He was having disciplinary issues at home, disciplinary issues at school, when that wasn’t really a problem before.”

She said she later saw gradual improvements after her son began working with CIS, which helped him develop coping strategies and stay focused in school.

“What a huge gift they’ve given my kid and other kids as well, all within Austin ISD,” she said. “And I just really want for other kids to have in the future to have, you know, CIS to be able to rely on like that as well.”

Despite the reduction in Austin ISD, Communities In Schools leaders said the organization is not leaving the district. CIS said it will continue serving students at about 30 campuses.

“That vote does not change the support that we will continue to provide to the district. It does not change the tenacity that we’re going to be advocating for our children,” Vigil said. “We will continue supporting the way we have been for the past 40 years.”

CIS officials told KVUE they are currently working with Austin ISD to determine which campuses will lose services, with a final decision expected by the end of the week.

KVUE reached out to Austin ISD to ask how the district plans to fill the gap in services. The district has not yet provided an official response.