Superintendent updates board on referendum outreach, T‑Mobile hotspot partnership and attendance task force

Austin Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Joey Page (identified in the transcript as the subject of a goals presentation later in the meeting) and district staff updated the school board on several fall initiatives, including referendum outreach, a partnership with T‑Mobile to provide mobile hotspots to eligible families, an attendance task force, device-recycling practices and the district’s rostering process.

The superintendent’s report said the district’s referendum website, Accelerate Austin, has been updated with information about two ballot questions scheduled for the November 4 election; the site will include project timelines and a Q&A and staff planned community information sessions. The report reminded the public that early voting starts Sept. 19 and said the full website would launch later in the week.

Staff announced a new partnership with T‑Mobile’s Project 10Million to provide free mobile hotspots to eligible families for up to five years; eligibility will be determined by programs such as the National School Lunch Program, SNAP or Medicaid. District staff said additional information and enrollment instructions will be shared with families through school channels.

An attendance task force formed over the summer has officially kicked off, the superintendent reported. The district described the task force as a cross-district group focused on system-level strategies to improve attendance, including early interventions, standardized attendance systems and culturally responsive family engagement. Staff said the task force’s work aligns with an existing student research task force and will focus on data transparency and clearer school–family messaging.

The report addressed device replacement and disposal: district staff described a multi-path process for end‑of‑life devices. Apple devices (iPads, Macs) are processed by a vendor named Tech Defenders that evaluates, repairs for reuse or pays the district for eligible devices; non-Apple devices (Windows laptops, Chromebooks) are either refurbished/resold or recycled, with recycling costs offset by revenue from usable equipment when possible. Staff said devices are decommissioned after five or six years of use and that the district recoups funds when possible while ensuring proper e-waste recycling.

District staff also described the rostering process for K–6 (an algorithmic roster score between 0 and 1, augmented with human site-level constraints and iterative teacher review) and high-school academic planning (four-year plans to meet graduation requirements). Staff said some sites require multiple iterations of rostering and that manual humanized adjustments are a regular part of the process.

The superintendent concluded the report by listing community representation at recent conferences and a student sports highlight. The provided transcript did not record final board votes on the referendum materials, the hotspot partnership, or other agenda items during the excerpt provided.

Speakers and sources in the excerpt included the superintendent (Dr. Joey Page) and technology/disposal staff who discussed device recycling practices.