Superintendent Paul Segura told the Austin ISD Board of Trustees on Thursday that the district is moving quickly to finish required turnaround plans and to develop an academic framework intended to align instruction across schools while conserving budget resources.
Segura described the academic framework as an 18‑month effort that will establish a baseline academic program, guiding principles and milestones for community engagement. “An academic framework creates the structures for quality and alignment of the district's educational plan, ensuring that high quality learning experiences are available to all students,” he said.
On turnaround plans required by the Texas Education Agency, Segura said the submission date recently changed from a previously communicated mid‑November deadline. “When we first were notified … it was on November 14. We just found out about a day ago that it had… it's now been moved to the 20 first,” he told the board, adding the change “aligns up well with the board meeting on the twentieth,” and will allow the district to sequence community engagement and board review.
Segura described ongoing community feedback opportunities — campus advisory council meetings, principal coffees and phase‑2 surveys — and said the district will continue to offer multiple in‑person and virtual engagement sessions. Ally Goedici, senior executive director of communications and engagement, said three of the open houses will be virtual and that principals are offering hybrid options for local meetings.
Public speakers at the meeting urged the board to slow top‑down turnaround actions and to center communities in planning. Former trustee Leticia Anderson, speaking by recorded message about agenda item 14.2, said the district’s updated scorecard “highlights five constraints… On paper, these commitments sound powerful, but the picture they paint today is one of failure,” and called for “solutions, not excuses.” Maria Alice Ruiz, a Sanchez Elementary dyslexia interventionist, urged trustees to retain certified teachers and to prioritize services for students in turnaround campuses.
Several recorded callers and attendees also raised mental‑health concerns. Helen Miller asked whether the district’s interlocal agreement with Austin State Hospital guarantees inpatient access for AISD families in mental‑health crises and how the district’s agreements with Travis County connect to crisis care.
Segura framed the broader effort — which includes school consolidations, boundary changes and program alignments — as necessary to protect the district’s financial solvency and long‑term program stability. He said administrators are building transition frameworks for affected staff and students and emphasized the work is delicate: “We are going to continue to have feedback opportunities… we certainly recognize that the timeline is not a timeline that we would like to have,” he said.
The superintendent also said the district has made a change to make progress reports more accessible on mobile devices and encouraged families to engage in the phase‑2 survey, which the district extended to Monday the 29th.
Board actions later in the same meeting included adoption of an amended scorecard and approval of updated monitoring and governance documents; trustees and staff indicated those decisions will be reflected in forthcoming plan submissions and board materials.