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Austin ISD board meeting, Aug 27, 2026

2 h 45 min · 2 public speakers

Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 53:41Enrollment ▶ 1:07:04Reading and test scores ▶ 15:33Vouchers and school choice ▶ 2:24

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 2 h 45 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Austin ISD board hears projection of $105 million deficit for last fiscal year 54:04

  • The superintendent's report covered the first week of school, a planned public dashboard, a special education update and a budget update. 9:04
  • Trustees unanimously approved a group of agenda items and approved an education affiliation agreement with Austin Community College District. 2:31:28
  • The board also approved a response plan for an intruder detection audit Tier 2 enhanced monitoring notice. 2:43:15

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (11)
  1. Opening and public comment 0:15
    • Lynn Boswell called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. and said 2 people had left recorded messages for public comment. 1:34
    • Another speaker at public comment said closing schools takes away choice from parents and said the Dove Springs community had been neglected. 2:55
  2. Campus celebrations 3:46
    • The superintendent described a visit to Mendez, saying 200 students participate in band and enrollment is approaching 700 students. 5:13
    • Fernando Lucas de Urioste described attending the first day of school at Casey Elementary. 7:22
    • Lynn Boswell said Austin High would play its first game on a new field from the 2022 bond that night. 8:36
  3. First week of school and dashboard 9:04
    • The superintendent said the dashboard will first list certain schools and will ultimately expand to include all schools. 9:04
    • The superintendent said the district anticipates a September 15th launch of a public-facing dashboard and will update all data points by the 15th of each month. 11:43
  4. Special education update 15:33
    • A staff member said the district was released from the TEA agreed order and that 14,000 students, almost 22% of the student population, receive special education. 15:33
    • A presenter said the district completed 575 initial IEP ARD meetings, 94 annual ARD meetings and 594 student evaluations this summer. 24:12
    • Candace Hunter asked for evaluation figures to be broken out for private school students, and Arati Singh asked for a redacted sample of student progress reports. 36:37
  5. Budget update presentation 53:41
    • The chief financial officer said the district needs to borrow $140 million in October through a tax and revenue anticipation note and that its financial rating fell from a 95 to an 88 after receiving 0 of 10 points on one staffing indicator. 1:07:04
  6. Trustee questions on the budget 1:23:54
    • David Kauffman asked about the effect of enrollment coming in below the budgeted 68,329 students, and a staff member said an estimate existed but was not ready to present. 1:37:12
    • David Kauffman asked what the $140 million tax revenue anticipation note would cost, and a staff member said the previous $19 million note cost $250,000 in fees. 1:40:28
    • Arati Singh asked staff to show the math on transportation costs, and the superintendent said the district would provide the math and backup. 2:01:12
  7. Campus accountability discussion 2:05:39
    • One board member asked for a deep dive and close tracking of Linder and Pecan Springs. 2:06:09
    • Lynn Boswell said the board officers would discuss the request at the next governance meeting. 2:09:46
    • The superintendent said updates on the campuses could begin as early as the September board information session. 2:13:00
  8. Committee reports and consent agenda 2:25:35
    • Kevin Foster moved to approve the consent agenda items. 2:26:02
    • Candace Hunter asked for usage data on the translation and interpretation item and asked how teachers are informed about the language line. 2:27:04
    • Lynn Boswell announced that the consent agenda passed unanimously. 2:31:28
  9. Agreements for separate vote 2:31:28
    • One board member said that, in the role of board secretary, they were making the motions but would abstain from the vote. 2:32:21
    • The items included a memorandum of understanding with Austin Community College for clinical teaching placement and an agreement for clinical experiences for student nurses. 2:32:35
    • Items 13.4 and 13.5 each passed 7 to 2. 2:34:54
    • Item 13.1 passed, item 13.2 passed 8 to 1 and item 13.3 passed 7 to 2. 2:33:20
  10. Intruder detection audit response plan 2:42:31
    • Fernando Lucas de Urioste moved to approve a response plan for an intruder detection audit Tier 2 enhanced monitoring notice. 2:43:15
    • The presiding officer said the plan covers campuses that will get extra support this year and is posted in the board documents. 2:43:26
    • The motion passed by all those on the dais. 2:43:26
  11. Adjournment 2:43:26
    • The board reconvened after executive session and adjourned at 11:38 PM. 2:43:26

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

What was said

What board members said, in order

Can you tell me what those monitoring reports actually look like that parents would get? Does it just sort of track the implementation of the IEP, or does it also include student outcomes that are very specific to that child?Arati Singh · Board member45:02
Well, and the other piece, and I know we're doing a lot, but I still want us to have an open and transparent conversation about the risk that we as a district face, whether it's fair or not. But we already are so vulnerable with our 5 UA campuses for a takeover.Arati Singh · Board member2:07:53
Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Austin ISD Board of Trustees Regular Voting Meeting: August 27, 2026”