AISD board could vote to funnel $430K to IDEA charter program
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Money is the hot topic of Monday night’s Austin Independent School District board meeting.
Members are expected to decide on what to do with $19 million left over from the district’s 2008 Bond Program Contingency Fund. Right now, the board only has plans for $16 million of it.
Just over $10 million is expected to go toward necessary renovations in 34 schools and one other district-owned building. Another $5.4 million will implement parts of the Facilities Master Plan, which the board approved in December.
Two controversial aspects of the plan need a portion of the fund, including upcoming changes to North Central Elementary school, and the IDEA in-district charter program that will take over Allen Elementary School and eventually Eastside Memorial High School.
The charter transition will cost $430,000, and is a sore spot for some members of the Eastside Memorial community. Protesters spoke out against IDEA during a Pride of the Eastside rally this weekend.
"They think that they want to help IDEA as much as possible, they're not thinking about the whole community, and they're not even listening to the community, they need to listen to the community, they need to pun intended bond with the community," protestor Vincent Tovar said.
Monday’s meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the board auditorium at the Caruth Administration Building at 1111 West Sixth Street.