The Austin Independent School District board was planning to discuss and vote on around $185 million in cuts to its next budget. But a last-second change raised that number to $205 million. The budget was approved on a vote of seven to one. One trustee abstained.
During a last-minute conversation, trustees amended the budget to make sure all AISD campuses have a full-time librarian. The change includes a nearly $1 million investment that will come from the district’s fund balance, its savings account.
District officials added another $20 million in cuts after trustees had asked them to ensure the district’s fund balance was not drained lower than 10% of its operating budget. The fund balance helps the district make payroll if revenues come in late or helps during unexpected situations such as severe weather events.
District officials added $20 million dollars in reduction to their original plan. Budget reductions that will be implemented next school year will cut $205 million.
For months, the district has been working on reducing the budget deficit for the 2026-27 school year. But last week, the board learned that the budget deficit for the current school year had grown from $19 million to $95 million. Segura explained the deficit grew because of low attendance rates during the last five weeks of school. The district also failed to sell properties that were accounted for in the initial projections.
Every year, the district aims to keep savings to match at least 20% of its budget, but the 2025-26 deficit grew so large that the district only had about 10% in the bank. With the new plan, the 2026-27 school year will keep afund balance of around 13%. District officials have also said they will have to take out a loan to make payroll this fall.
Superintendent Matias Segura said part of why the district is facing a budget crunch is because the state does not properly fund public education.
“We’re at a point where there’s very little that we can do to get back to a balanced budget that doesn’t create disruption and ultimately reduce the number of staff in Austin ISD,” Segura said. “And we didn’t get here overnight, and we didn’t get here by accident.”
The plan will affect at least 582 positions at campus levels and in central office, 196 of those positions are unfilled jobs that will be eliminated. Officials also said from the 386 staff impacted, only 20 still need a new placement; the rest have been placed or found a new position in their current campus or department. But more positions will be affected by the new reductions, district officials said they are still working on final numbers.
The plan includes cuts to technology, reducing stipends for special education and bilingual specialists, and changing transportation for afterschool programs, middle schools and high schools.
The extra $20 million in cuts include increasing the student-teacher ratio at more schools than originally proposed, reducing the amount spent on substitutes, additional cuts to employee benefits and eliminating unfilled positions.
District officials proposed extra $20 million worth in cuts, including some that will be made in the next few months.
The district is also planning on making $60 million worth of property sales to balance part of the 2026-27 budget deficit. Trustees have warned that this is a one-time infusion of money, which means the district will have to find a source of income to balance future budgets.
While there was new information in the budget that passed, board members explained that the vote could no longer be delayed for legal reasons. Trustee Lynn Boswell said the board could come back and make amendments to the budget based on community feedback.
“I know that partly we’re making some of these deep cuts because we’ve missed our adopted budget,” she told district officials. “So in August, I hope, you bring back to us a really clear plan for how we ensure that doesn’t happen again.”
The district adopted a new calendar to have monthly budget check-ins with the board.
The board also voted in favor of declaring six campuses of the 10 closing schools as surplus, which allows the district to move forward with the sale or lease of the properties.
Direct impact on educators and families
AISD families and community members asked the board to reconsider making cuts to campuses, cutting extracurriculars and changing transportation. While officials have said that the cuts are being felt across the district, parents and educators argued that the impact will be felt mainly by students.
Sarah Ramirez is a bilingual speech pathologist at two AISD schools. She said that the cut to stipends for bilingual and special education specialists will affect the most vulnerable students in the district. She explained that, with the proposed cuts, many of her colleagues have discussed leaving AISD to work in the private sector, where they will have better pay and more stability. She said it’s likely that those who decide to stay will see a higher case loads. And, ultimately, she said, students are going to be the ones who will be affected.
“It’s not going to impact their access to services, it’s definitely going to impact the quality of those services,” Ramirez said.
With a reduced stipend, Ramirez’s salary will be cut by $3,500. She said that while she has considered leaving the district, it is more likely that she will have to get a second job to make up for the lost income.
Some campuses will also be affected by having fewer counselors and part-time assistant principals. Teachers will have fewer planning periods and more students in the classroom. Middle school and high school students will also be impacted by a change in the transportation system.
Katrina Kincaid, who has three kids in AISD, said she is still waiting to see where the new bus stop hubs will be placed for two of her kids. She said she is not completely sure her kids will be able to walk to those hubs.
“That would make it a lot more difficult for us in the morning trying to manage drop-offs at multiple times or getting the kids to that hub at various times,” she said. “It does not work for families that have parents that are both working or single parents or even families that might not have their own transportation to get their child to one of these hubs.”
Kincaid said that she truly believes in public education, but that she has considered leaving the district, and even Austin, because of the uncertainty school districts in Texas are facing.
A new contract for the Superintendent
The board also approved a new contract for superintendent Matias Segura, extending his tenure until 2030. Community members asked the board not to vote on the contract while also voting on a budget that affects teachers and staff.
“What I don’t understand is why you are considering an extension of the superintendent contract tonight,“ AISD teacher Traci Dunlap said. “It seems insensitive and inappropriate to be discussing a two-year contract extension and bonuses for leadership.”
Segura’s contract says he will receive the same base salary as his first contract, which he signed in 2024, $362,250.
The initial draft for the new contract included paying Segura $1,500 for each Austin ISD campus that improved its accountability rating from a “D” or “F” to a “C.” That section of the contract was eliminated after the parents and community members asked the board earlier this month not to renew Segura’s contract.
For the next school year, Austin ISD will be working on improving the accountability ratings for over two dozen campuses that have received failing or unacceptable grades from the state.