Parents, teachers and neighbors press AISD to preserve CIS, librarians and neighborhood bus service

Dozens of parents, teachers and community members used the board’s public testimony period on June 18 to press the Austin ISD trustees to protect campus services they say are essential to student wellbeing and enrollment.

Speakers who identified themselves as parents, AISD staff or nonprofit partners described how Communities In Schools (CIS) staff have helped families with basic needs, counseling and attendance, and urged trustees not to cut CIS funding. Multiple parents and staff said reducing librarians to half‑time across campuses will curtail literacy programming and after‑school supports; several asked the board to restore librarians to full‑time.

Neighbors from the Bouldin Creek/Becker Elementary area repeatedly urged the board to designate Becker Elementary for adaptive reuse with improvements rather than placing it on a for‑sale list, and asked to be actively engaged in selecting any partner organization. Several callers cited the original trust deed language and urged the board to preserve the property for educational use.

Calls about transportation were frequent. Parents whose children depend on district buses warned that eliminating or scaling back neighborhood secondary routes and late‑activity buses could reduce attendance and make some programs inaccessible, particularly for families without private transportation. Callers asked the district to maintain commitments for specific programs (for example, montessori busing for Winn families moving to Riley) and to ensure hub locations are within reasonable walking distance.

What speakers asked for: protect campus‑based positions first (counselors, librarians, CIS staff), preserve fine arts and band staffing where possible, engage neighborhoods on surplus property plans, and provide clear FAQs and routes for families who rely on bus service.

Administration response: staff repeatedly said the transition plan includes outreach, phone‑bank follow‑up for registration and a website landing page with campus transition resources; trustees directed staff to provide clearer communication and to return with more detailed plans where feasible.

Ending: Testimony concluded before the board recessed for executive session; much of the public record was later cited in trustee debate during budget deliberations.