Prop. A bond 'won't fix problems' warn former Austin ISD Trustees

Austin ISD has been on the warpath lately to promote Proposition A, which it says will make up for an unexpected shortfall of funds allocated by the Texas Legislature last session. 

A recent article stated Prop. A would raise $171 million in new revenue, but the district will only keep $41 million of it due to state "Robin Hood" recapture. That remaining $41 million would be used to make good on a teacher pay increase agreement, supporters say, including the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

But Prop. A isn't the ticket, warned a letter from 10 former Austin ISD Trustees. The letter warns Prop. A represents a steep tax hike in exchange for "minimal benefit to students, the district, or public education as a whole." And this despite declining enrollment in Austin public schools.

Below is the letter, obtained from various social media sources.

Fellow Austinites, 

As former trustees we have been ardent supporters of Austin ISD, but are watching the district careen off course in its current ask from voters without transparency or clear communications on the Prop A ballot measure. 

AISD has been bled mercilessly by byzantine and outmoded educational funding models from the state. So, yes, the district may be on the brink of financial exigency without a major shift in funding streams. But this proposed tax rate increase won’t fix the problems, and it also comes without any operational reductions at the district, at a very high expense to taxpayers, and with minimal benefit to students, the district, or public education as a whole. 

To break that down:

* 76% of the taxes that will come from this proposed tax rate (estimated to be $130 million) will NOT stay in AISD, and will go to the state’s General Fund because the new rate pushes the district into a higher percentage of Recapture. 

* The proposed tax rate increase will add roughly $500 of new annual taxes to the average homeowners property tax bill with only $120 staying in AISD. This ongoing increase will also create higher rental prices so Prop A would make living in Austin even less affordable than it is now for the foreseeable future. 

* The district’s enrollment has declined by nearly 7,000 students in the past four years, yet  the District has made virtually no efforts to respond accordingly. Staffing numbers have remained largely static, operating expenses have continued to grow, and “eliminated” central office positions, which have been touted as a cost savings measure, were almost all vacant positions. Meanwhile, the academic outcomes of the remaining students have stagnated, particularly those for the students of color.

*AISD messaging promotes this tax rate as a needed measure to be able to fairly compensate teachers and staff. While we agree that fair teacher compensation is a priority, the average net pay increase the tax raise would yield would be eaten up by property tax and new AISD employee insurance premium increases. With the estimated annual property tax increase projected at $500 per average Austin home, it feels like handing AISD staff a raise with one hand and taking it away with the other.  

*It’s a really tough proposition to support when it directly exacerbates the city’s affordability challenges for ALL Austinites and also provides the State with $130 million to use for non-educational purposes in the state’s General Fund.  

We think there is an assumption that with limited communication, the measure will pass without issue during a presidential election year since no one is asking the tough questions or paying attention. There are some local politicians publicly supporting the measure, but we have seen the pressures coming from special interest groups pushing this tax increase to serve their own agendas rather than to help AISD students. Right now those influences are louder than the majority of Austinites who may be unaware of the impact that checkbox on their ballot will have on their personal finances. 

We encourage you to ask the tough questions about how Prop A will impact our city, our schools, and ultimately our students so you can make an informed vote. Unfortunately few, if any, media outlets have done their research and instead have reported out the information provided by the district’s own press releases. As such, finding complete and honest answers to the tough questions may be difficult, which is why we have all felt compelled to release this statement publicly. Below you will find the names of former AISD Trustees, who when taken together represent each and every part of the district and bring a combined 60+ years of school board member experience. We invite you to reach out to any of us should you have more questions.

Thank you for truly caring about Austin and its public school students, 

Cindy Anderson

Latisha Anderson

Kristin Ashy

Cheryl Bradley

Julie Cowan

Amber Elenz

Sam Guzmán

Lori Moya 

Kendall Pace

Yasmin Wagner