The Texas Tribune and Austin Current host a panel on the potential AISD takeover

On Monday Oct. 21, the Texas Tribune and Austin Current brought together AISD advocates and people who have lived through and researched Houston ISD’s takeover to discuss what Austin ISD could face.

Austin ISD is on the brink of becoming the next Texas district taken over by the state. In August Burnet and Webb middle schools received their fifth straight failing rating. Triggering a law that directs Commissioner Mike Morath to either close the schools or appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board. Interestingly, he has only opted for takeover in otherwise Democratic constituencies, while more Republican leaning community have been spared the heavy hand of the state.

HISD has seen STAAR gains since the takeover, but researchers Toni Templeton of the University of Houston and Erin Baumgartner of Rice University laid out the costs behind them. Students, teachers, and administrators would “leave, leave, leave,” Templeton said, and students who left in the first year suffered bigger academic setbacks than students changing schools elsewhere in Texas. Uncertified teacher rates rose above the state average and with no new state funding HISD paid for its model by cutting the wraparound services families relied on. 

HISD pulled nearly $450 million from its reserves in the first two years of the takeover, and AISD has much smaller reserves. Panelists agreed districts shouldn’t have to make these trade-offs, and these financial models aren’t sustainable.

The second panel shifted to the control the state takes from communities. Dani Hernandez, an elected HISD trustee, said the lack of communication has signaled to trustees they are viewed by the TEA as “civilians” with no say. Their district emails were cut off following the takeover, and the appointed board has only met with them about five times in three years.

Former AISD trustee Noelita Lugo explained that while elected leaders answer directly to voters, state appointees have little incentive to act for the community. Austin families typically say they love their nearby schools, independent of TEA ratings. This should motivate the state to support the schools, not take them over.

Across both panels it was clear struggling schools need investment, not state appointees. Texas ranks in the 40’s in per student funding, almost $5,000 below the national average. A takeover would likely bring Austin what it brought elsewhere, instability in administration and teachers, increased unenrollment, and a loss of community input. The future of Austin schools should rest with the students, families, and educators they serve.

This forum come just days after Austin ISD announced that it had collected enough parent signatures for Burnet and Webb to present to request the closure of these campuses rather than face district takeover by the state, TEA has indicated that nothing would be announced until December, well after election Day.