AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Independent School District leaders outlined their legislative agenda for state lawmakers during an information session on Monday, facing steep financial challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency announced districts with declining attendance won’t face funding penalties for the first semester of the 2020-21 school year. Austin ISD Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde called for an extension of protections for the entire year to help prevent layoffs and cuts to important programs.
“We think we should be given the same dollars as if every student showed up, because there have been so many additional expenses,” Elizalde said.
Larry Throm, Austin ISD’s chief business officer, warned in September that around 232 teachers and staff could be laid off if enrollment didn’t improve.
“A lot of teachers are worried about layoffs,” said Mario Piña, an Austin ISD teacher. “As we look at the numbers, we look at financials. It doesn’t seem like education is something that we value.”
The Texas Legislature was praised in 2019 for passing a historic public education funding measure, House Bill 3, but was tied to a budget surplus during good economic times, which has since evaporated during the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said lawmakers will face a $4.6 billion budget shortfall in the upcoming legislative session.
“We did not put any sustainable revenue streams in place to keep the promise that we made to kids and that we made to teachers,” said state Rep. James Talarico (D-Round Rock). “We need to look at where we can find additional revenue to ensure that this investment is continued over the long term.”
Austin ISD leaders are also asking the state legislature to change how the state funds public education—enrollment-based funding, they say, would be more stable than attendance-based funding.
“There are a lot of merits to moving from one to another,” said Monty Exter, a lobbyist with the Association of Texas Professional Educators. “That is probably going to be a longer-term conversation, but now is certainly as good of a time as any to be having it.”
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