Austin ISD’s newly formed Budget Stabilization Task Force made up of about 30 district residents, parents and staff met for the first time June 25 to discuss strategies to evaluate future AISD spending. AISD Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley Johnson said the task force will meet over the summer to develop options to stabilize the district’s budget, which could include cutting or changing district programs and finding new funding sources such as selling or renting unused district property. The fiscal year 2018-19 budget, which was approved by the district’s board of trustees June 18, outlines a deficit of about $30 million that will be paid through the district’s reserve fund. Conley Johnson said the annual deficit could double and exceed $70 million in the coming years without any action to change course. The district cannot rely on the reserve fund, which currently stands at about $270 million, to pay for the pitfall in future budgets, she said. “We want to protect our student learning experience and make sure they have what they need to maximize their potential,” Conley Johnson said. “At the same time, we have some real financial challenges [as] a district. It's going to require us to make some decisions about how we spend our dollars and maybe ask our community to change the way we do business in terms of what we provide our students and families.” Some factors affecting district funding include annual state recapture payments, inflationary costs for district programming and decreasing enrollment districtwide, she said. Future task force meetings will take place on July 16, July 30 and Aug. 15, before the start of the new school year. Conley Johnson said her hope is that some of the task force’s ideas could be presented to AISD trustees this fall for consideration in future budgets. She also said that there is a possibility of the task force continuing to meet beyond the summer. While the district frequently uses committees for planning, she said the Budget Stabilization Task Force is the first time the district has had a group that represents so many areas and interests in the community focused on a singular goal. “Looking at that spirited group, I really have no doubt that they are going to meet their charge and develop some options,” she said.