As far as school board meetings go, tonight's should be among the most exciting of the year. Trustees are set to vote on a roster of plans that could bring significant changes to the school district in 2012-13. Here鈥檚 a quick guide to the evening:
Rally against IDEA Public Schools: Before the meeting starts, parents opposed to an in-district charter school proposal being voted on tonight will stage an hour-long march, followed by a protest at AISD headquarters. You can find more about their position on the IDEA Public School contract on
Citizen Communication: Expect parents and teachers to dominate this public comment period of the AISD meeting. It will be the first order of business for the board, after trustees say the pledge of allegiance with kids from Barbara Jordan Elementary School and recognize some schools for their academic performance on standardized state tests. Up to 30 people can speak for a maximum two minutes each.
Transfer Freezes: Superintendent Meria Carstarphen will announce which schools will be frozen to transfers for the 2012-13 school year. Schools that will be frozen to general transfers are: Akins, Anderson, Austin, Bowie and McCallum High Schools; Kealing, Murchison and O. Henry Middle Schools; Andrews, Baldwin, Baranoff, Barrington, Blazier, Bryker Woods (except K, 5, 6), Casis, Cook, Doss, Graham, Harris, Hart, Hill, Kiker, Langford, Lee, Odom, Patton, Perez, Pickle, Pillow, Ridgetop, Rodriguez, Walnut Creek and Wooldridge Elementary Schools. Several more schools will be monitored and possibly frozen to transfers next school year. (Update at 10:11 p.m. A district staffer wanted to clarify that these schools are not yet frozen to priority transfers, but general transfers only.)
Bids for Baker and Carruth Administrative Buildings: Earlier this year, under financial and political pressure, the Austin ISD said it would be accepting bids on two administrative buildings located in desirable parts of town. The Carruth Center is located downtown on West Sixth Street. The Baker Building is located in Hyde Park. Superintendent Carstarphen will recommend that the board not accept bids for either building.
The Main Event: A list of sweeping proposals will be voted on by school board members, including the aforementioned recommendation to contract with IDEA Public Schools. The proposals are called 鈥淎nnual Academic Facilities Recommendations鈥� or AAFRs. Here they are, with links to the background documents:
- to four more schools, including three Spanish programs and one Chinese Mandarin program.
- to reduce the number of kids sent there.
- to building a new elementary school in North Central Austin.
- by moving sixth graders to their respective middle schools and creating a Pre-K center at Dobie Middle School.
- to run an in-district charter targeting high school dropouts.
- to run an in-district college prep program targeting children in East Austin.
Where to Watch: The 7 pm meeting is open to the public at , but it might be a bit crowded. You can also watch on Time Warner Channel or Grande Communications channel 22, ATT U-verse channel 99 or just And make sure to follow to join the conversation.
