Austin officials outline expansion plans for after‑school and out‑of‑school programs, cite staffing and data gaps

Austin officials and partners on the joint AISD‑city‑county subcommittee on Wednesday described plans to expand after‑school and out‑of‑school‑time (OST) programming across Austin, and flagged staffing shortages, limited data on the true unmet need and potential tax relief for childcare providers.

The district’s Third Base after‑school program is in a multi‑year expansion that will grow offerings on elementary campuses in three phases. City Parks and Recreation officials described their after‑school, summer and teen programs, and Travis County staff said the county is working to build a system to better measure demand. Subcommittee members discussed the need to map programs and participants so the city, county and district can target funding and workforce pipelines.

The expansion plan from Austin ISD’s Third Base program aims to increase campus coverage over three school years. Jeremy Martorell, director of the AISD Third Base after‑school program, told the subcommittee: “Phase 1 will occur during the 23‑24 school year … at 24 locations. Phase 2 … is gonna expand to 16 more locations. And then in phase 3 … we will expand to 38 locations.” Martorell said the program is tuition‑based and that the current tuition is $275 per month. He told board members the program received a childcare relief fund grant in prior years that helped preserve revenue while expanding services.

Officials said staffing is the primary bottleneck. Martorell said the program targets a staffing ratio of “1 to 18,” and that the district is recruiting part‑time hourly…