The Austin ISD board of trustees continued its yearslong discussion about a potential new high school magnet program in South Austin during its work session meeting Aug. 15 by evaluating funding scenarios, including a new high school in either Northeast or South Austin.
District staff presented the board with options: Either repurpose a South Austin school to serve 1,100 magnet students for $16 million, or build a new high school in Northeast or South Austin to serve 2,000 magnet students for $134 million.
Austin ISD has been pursuing advanced academic programming for South Austin high schools as far back as December 2014.[/caption]
If the district proceeds with repurposing, then it would occur at an underenrolled South Central Austin high school, said Edmund Oropez, AISD chief officer for teaching and learning. If the district chooses to build a new high school, it would need about 50 acres, $12 million to buy land in Northeast Austin or between $10 million-$24 million for South Austin land, with construction beginning three years after the district obtains funding, according to AISD.
Staff asked the board if it supports the district administration’s recommendation to launch a comprehensive high school magnet program in South Austin and what scenario is preferred. Trustees who spoke had other concerns and did not commit to a scenario.
Trustee Julie Cowan, inquiring about why Northeast and South Austin were presented as the two choices for a new high school, asked why Central Austin was not listed. Oropez said Central Austin is an option, although it was not in the presentation.
Trustee Paul Saldaña, who represents parts of South Austin, said not enough is being done to educate the community about the existing rigorous programming at South Austin high schools.
“I’m not prepared to make any recommendations about what I do or do not want to see,” Saldaña said.
Trustee Yasmin Wagner, representing Southwest Austin, also did not prefer one scenario over another, saying there was not enough substantial information as to what the new school’s curriculum should be.
“I don’t want to place just a magnet [school] in South Austin for the sake of placing a magnet in South Austin,” Wagner said. “I want to make sure that we are architecting a strong and successful model that will best serve not only the students of Southwest Austin but all the students in the district that can take advantage of this program.”
AISD has been pursuing advanced academic programming in South Austin as far back as December 2014. After various board discussions about the subject throughout 2015, the board formed the South Magnet Planning Committee in November 2015 made up of parents and AISD staff.
Michael Jung, a member of the South Magnet Planning Committee and an assistant principal at Akins High School, said the committee’s challenge was to identify more opportunities for rigorous, advanced academic programming.
The Liberal Arts and Science Academy, a magnet high school that shares campus space with LBJ Early College High School in East Austin, has received on average 578 applications per year and accepts 340 students per year, according to AISD. The majority of LASA’s applicants and enrolled students come from Central and South Austin, and 56 percent of its students are Caucasian, yet 58.8 percent of the students in the district are Hispanic.
Parent Debby Clarke, another member of the committee, said the desire for a rigorous academic program in South Austin high schools came about from the capacity and diversity issues at LASA.
“Many of you were at community feedback meetings as of three years ago when we were talking about the fact we have no magnet program south of the river,” Clarke said. “So this has been going on for a long time.”
Trustees said they want more information before proceeding.
