About

Austin Independent School District (“Austin ISD”) plans to price approximately $750 million of Unlimited Tax School Building Bonds, Series 2024 (the “Bonds”) on or about March 26, 2024. The pricing date is preliminary and subject to change. The Bonds are the second installment of bonds being issued to fund district-wide projects approved by voters as part of a $2.44 billion November 2022 bond election.

Cabrera Capital Markets LLC will serve as Lead Manager in the sale of the Bonds, with UMB Bank, N.A. serving as Co-Lead Manager.

Austin ISD anticipates the issuance of a single series of bonds with a 25-year amortization. The preliminary official statement and official statement for the Bonds will be available via BondLink at BondLink.com and via the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s Electronic Municipal Market Access system at emma.msrb.org. 

Austin ISD anticipates that the proceeds from the sale of the Bonds will be used for (1) the design, construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, improvement and equipment of school buildings in the District (including but not limited to improvements to enhance safety, security, and energy efficiency) and the purchase of the necessary sites therefor and the purchase of new school buses, (2) the design, construction, acquisition, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, improvement and upgrading of technology systems, infrastructure and equipment, (3) the design, construction, rehabilitation, renovation, expansion, improvement and equipment of stadium facilities in the District, and (4) paying costs of issuing the Bonds.

This news release is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Bonds.  Any such offer or solicitation will only be made pursuant to the applicable preliminary official statement and/or official statement that prospective investors should review in entirety before making any investment decision.

The Austin ISD School Board of Trustees appointed Matias Segura as the district’s superintendent at its regular board voting meeting Thursday.

Segura's deep roots in the Austin ISD community, as both a former student and the son of a longtime teacher, make him uniquely qualified to understand and address the needs of the district.

He attended Kocurek Elementary, Covington Middle School and graduated from James Bowie High School. His mother was a former teacher serving more than four decades at Austin ISD.

The board officially extended and approved a contract for Segura during the meeting. 

Segura is currently completing a Superintendent Educator Preparatory Program, which along with other requirements would allow him to obtain a Superintendent Certification.

Background

• On Dec. 14 the board unanimously approved the selection of Segura as the lone finalist for the position of superintendent.
• State law requires that the board allow at least 21 days after a finalist is approved to sign the employment contract for the position of superintendent.
• Public Forums took place last week for the community to ask questions of the lone finalist.
• Segura has worked for the district since 2018, serving as chief of operations and leading the implementation of the $1.05 billion 2017 bond.

The budget process for the 2024-25 school year has begun!

**What to know: **The Austin ISD Finance Department presented a budget update to the school board and explained how we’ll work to reduce our $52 million budget deficit for this fiscal year. 

The department is focusing on some key areas within the district to reduce the deficit.

• Vacancy savings 
• Overtime
• Contract review
• Software

**What they’re saying: **“Our goal is to reduce our overall budget deficit by 50%. Once a budget is adopted we begin to perform budgetary reviews, making sure they align with the district scorecard and initiatives,” said, Eduardo Ramos, chief financial officer at Austin ISD.  “That process is year-round as we continually monitor our budgets.” 

**What’s Next: **We’ll present a preliminary budget to the board in April and the final budget is scheduled to be adopted in June. 

Get involved: The district will host a series of community conversation throughout the spring semester where everyone is invited to weigh in on budget priorities.

Full event details are listed on the district calendar.