AISD Basics
This post covers the basics of AISD as well as a more extensive section on how to get involved in AISD. Often, when I hear negative comments about “our schools” I can tell that the person hasn’t attended school in a long time or attended a much smaller school district. Learning about AISD, school funding, and actually volunteering in some schools would go a long way to help folks better understand what AISD does for our children. If there is a problem with an AISD school, knowing how to contact your trustee and understanding how AISD works can be helpful in resolving the issue.
What is AISD?
Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a public school district in Austin, Texas. The district was created in 1881 and currently serves 72,830 students in 116 schools. The district includes most of the city of Austin, the municipalities of San Leanna and Sunset Valley, and other areas within Travis County.
Who runs is?
A nine-member board of trustees runs AISD. This means that they, among other things, employ the superintendent, approve the budget and monitor expenditures, set the tax rate, and may call for a bond or tax rate election. The board also establishes policies for operating the district and ensuring its financial viability. They are not paid for this role.
How do they become trustees?
Members are elected in nonpartisan elections and serve four-year terms. Positions 1-7 are elected in single-member districts, while positions 8 and 9 are elected at-large, meaning that regardless of which district in which you live, you can vote for the position 8 and position 9 trustees. Don’t know in what AISD school district you live? Here’s a way to find out: AISD Boundaries.
Who pays for AISD?
AISD, like other public-school districts, are funded through property taxes, general state revenue and federal education funds.
Get Involved
Learn more: There’s much more to learn about AISD. I was thoroughly impressed with I went through the AISD UpClose Program. It gives you a look the incredible schools and programs that the district offers. This link provides you with more information about the program and a link to an application form. There are many other ways to be involved in AISD. Take a look at their website to learn more about the school district and what it offers.
Contact trustees: You can contact your trustee to let them know your concerns. It’s lovely to thank them when you are pleased with something they’ve done. Often, being engaged focuses on asking for things or bringing a complaint. Whenever you have a reason to praise your trustee, or the board as a whole, please do. Here is a list of the trustees and to send an email to all of the trustees, use this email address: @austinisd.org.
Watch or attend board of trustee meetings: The board usually meets on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. The first meeting of the month is an information session, and the second is a voting meeting. Check the calendar for the latest details. You can attend these meetings in person at district headquarters, 4000 S. IH 35, near the intersection of Ben White and I-35. You can watch the meetings on the district's Facebook page, YouTube channel or on AISD.TV.
Speak at a meeting: General comments about any topic are for information sessions. Comments at voting meetings must be about an agenda item. Get details about the meetings and how to speak or leave a comment visit AISD’s meetings page. It will also provide a link to the agenda as well as past agendas. That link is also here.
Join: Join the Campus Advisory Council (CAC). CACs are committees of parents, students, business and community representatives, teachers, principals, and other campus staff. These committees review and comment on a variety of things at the campus level. Formation of a CAC is required under state law (Texas Education Code). Learn more about CAC and how to apply here.
There are numerous advisory boards that might interest you. Find those here.
Join a PTA: If you have a child in AISD, then you should join that school’s PTA. This can help you stay up to date on what’s going on in your child’s school, as well as the district. Don’t have a child in AISD? Consider joining your neighborhood school’s PTA. This is a great way to stay connected to your community, and you might find ways to help that are extremely impactful. You can join here.