Austin ISD Proposition A passed by voters

AUSTIN, Texas - Travis County voters gave the green light to pass Proposition A for Austin ISD, which includes millions of dollars in pay raises for teachers and staff.

$17.8 million will be set aside for pay bumps.

"We were bold with what we were bringing forward," said Matis Segura, AISD superintendent. "It's important that we invest in our teachers because they're the unit of change in the classroom."

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The educators with the most experience will receive the largest salary boost.

The tax rate will collect an annual amount of $171 million, leaving AISD with $41 million. The rest of the funding goes to the state, totaling $130 million.

"Well, this is a Band-Aid. This is going to help us at this moment, this doesn't help us long-term," said Ken Zarifis, AISD President. "We need much more long term."

Voters to decide on Austin ISD Prop A

In Austin, voters will decide on a property tax increase to help fund the school district - Austin ISD Proposition A.

The reason is the recapture law, also known as the Robin Hood Plan. It puts the excess property tax money collected by a district into other lower-income districts and charter schools, taking it from the rich and giving to the poor in an effort to distribute funds equally.

However, some districts struggle to make ends meet and are frustrated that they lose a good chunk of their revenue.

State lawmakers planned to increase school funding in the 2023 legislative session, but those bills were killed amid the battle over school vouchers.

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"We need a legislature that will actually have a spine to actually fund public education," said Zarifis. "They don't even need a spine. They've got a $32 billion surplus that they can help fund. They could adjust the average daily allotment to help break this cycle of deficits."

Now, districts in Central Texas are operating with budget deficits, including Austin ISD.

"We're very proud of this moment because our community stepped up when this legislature behind me refused session, after session, after session," said Zarifis.

Governor Greg Abbott made a lot of people mad as he stuck to his guns, calling several special sessions trying to push the passing of Education Savings Accounts.

Voters to decide on property tax increase

The Austin ISD Board of Trustees voted to put a potential property tax rate increase on the November ballot. The increase would help with the district's budget deficit.

"What's happening at the state level, it's frustrating, it's discouraging, and I tell people all the time, like, we control, we can control," said Segura. "This is an example of us controlling and putting something forward that we as an organization and a community can get behind."

Governor Abbott even took time to bring it into discussion on Wednesday, the next day after the elections.

"We offered last year, we had $6 billion extra for public schools that they did not vote in favor of," said Governor Greg Abbott. "And then separate from that, we had separate funding for school choice. And they act like they're taking money away from public schools."

Abbott has largely endorsed candidates who have agreed to support school choice and has made it clear we can expect to see it back on the agenda in 2025.

As far as what is next, AISD wants to work toward reducing the $92 million budget deficit in the next three years. The Texas legislative session is set to start in January when state lawmakers will once again weigh funding for public schools.