SOLATX

SOLATX is a community project that explains how Texas school finance and state policy are starving Austin’s public schools and libraries — using clear, evidence‑based information the public can actually understand.

To translate complex history, legal decisions, and budget mechanics into accessible explanations that show why AISD faces a manufactured crisis — and how these forces directly impact librarians, libraries, and neighborhood learning spaces.

• AISD Deficit: $181,000,000
• Annual Recapture: $715,500,000
• Basic Allotment: $6,160 (unchanged since 2019)
• State Surplus: $30,000,000,000

These figures come directly from TEA and AISD financial reports. They describe a structural imbalance — not a local failure.

• Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1989–1993): Texas Supreme Court ruled the system unconstitutional four times.
• Senate Bill 7 (1993): “Robin Hood” recapture created as a temporary fix.
• No state income tax → long‑term dependence on local property taxes.
• Recapture now offsets state spending instead of equalizing opportunity.

These are historical facts, not interpretations.

Librarians and libraries are being cut because the district is forced to absorb structural deficits created at the state level. These cuts are not about performance, value, or community need — they are downstream effects of policy design.