Chapter 03 · Campuses
“Lack of involvement” here is not a claim that AISD vanished. It is a claim you can check against the 2026–27 reduction list: fewer adults on campus, less planning time, farther bus rides, closed neighborhood schools — while the structural gap was left for the Legislature. Trustees named the imbalance in the room.
“When weighted it is heavier on the campus than anywhere else, the campus is carrying the brunt. And we said we weren’t gonna do that.” — Trustee Candace Hunter, KUT, June 5, 2026
558 positions in the June 3 recommended plan (KUT / district letter). Later coverage of the adopted package: about 580 positions, class-size increases on some elementaries, planning time cut, bilingual and special-education stipends cut, Communities in Schools reduced, secondary buses to hubs, 46.5 bus-driver positions, 11 campuses closed.
Central office: prior-year cuts, a further ~$17 million in department cuts in the recommended budget, 2% salary decrease for some central staff, 228 department vacancies eliminated, more than 170 employees affected in an earlier central reorganization (KUT). Every campus still has a counselor and an armed officer, per state law. Librarians restored by amendment.
Figures below are from AISD letters, board materials, and contemporaneous reporting. Where two numbers appear in the record, both are shown.
| Item | Documented amount | What it does to a campus |
|---|---|---|
| Adopted operating budget | $887 million | June 18, 2026 vote. Chronicle, KXAN. |
| Spending reductions | ~$186–205 million | KXAN: $205 million in reductions to close the $181 million gap. Superintendent called it repairing the “safety net.” |
| Positions | 558 (plan) / ~580 (later) | Includes teachers, counselors, assistant principals, drivers. 112 certified staff moved. 58 teacher cuts via attrition/reassignment. 11.5 librarian FTEs were in the plan, then pulled. |
| Campus vs department (May plan) | $33.9M campus / $73.8M central & departments | Statesman, May 6. Dollar volume at central looks larger because vacancies and department budgets sit there. Adult time in front of students still fell on campuses. |
| Elementary class size (Band 3–4) | 2nd–4th 24:1 (from 22:1); 5th 27:1 (from 25:1) | Turnaround / “Band 1” campuses kept old ratios. The cut was aimed at schools the district labeled lower-need — which still have children. |
| Secondary planning time | 150 instructional positions | One planning period on some campuses. Turnaround campuses kept extra planning time. Fine arts / PE minutes follow the planning cut on elementary schedules in later years of the plan. |
| Transportation | $5.1 million (hubs); $391k (2-mile rule) | Neighborhood secondary stops replaced with hubs at elementary sites. Exceptions at 14 elementaries and 10 secondaries rolled back toward the 2-mile rule. No late activity buses. Trustee Singh: direct impact on attendance and enrollment. |
| School closures | ~$21–21.5 million gross / ~$17 million already spoken for | Net operating relief far smaller than the headline. Students reassigned. Buildings listed for sale or lease. |
| Property monetization | ~$60 million one-time | Four properties. One-time cash against a recurring deficit. Not a staffing restoration. |
Primary write-ups: KUT June 3 · Chronicle June 25 · KXAN June 23 · AISD campus-impacts PDF (BoardDocs / district site).
A district can hold meetings, send letters, and still withdraw from the school day. The 2026–27 package keeps a counselor and a police officer on every campus because state law requires it. It nearly made librarians half-time at 23 schools under 400 students — then reversed that slice after public comment. It did not reverse hubs, stipends, or planning time.
Small campuses are exactly the buildings left by Austin’s older map: East and central schools with low enrollment, high need, and a long record of being “efficient” to close. Assistant principals there go part-time. Partner services concentrate on the highest-need list. The 1:1 device model ends. That is a narrower district presence in ordinary classrooms, even if the central office still occupies a headquarters.
The superintendent’s contract remains a multi-year board document (base $362,250, supplemental retirement $36,750, reimbursed business travel including rental car). Trustees are unpaid. Those facts do not “cause” recapture. They are part of the same local-tax dollar that no longer buys a neighborhood bus stop. Putting them in the same table is bookkeeping, not a personality argument. See the money chapter.
