Responsibilities of Leadership

Guiding the Austin Independent School District towards excellence is the nine-member Board of Trustees. As the district's elected leaders, Trustees represent community expectations as they chart the direction of educational programs and services and establish the standard by which success is measured.

Responsibilities of the Board also include establishing policies for operation of the district and for ensuring its financial viability. Trustees employ the superintendent, approve the budget and monitor expenditures, set the tax rate, and may call for a bond election.

Welcome to a Meeting of Your Board

All Austin ISD meetings are open to the public. Regular Meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of each month in the Board Auditorium of the Carruth Adminstration Center, 1111 West Sixth St. With public notice, Trustees also hold special meetings and work sessions as needed. A majority of the Board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. All public meetings are cablecast live on AISD Cable channel 22 and are periodically recablecast.

Within the limits of the Texas Open Meetings Act, parts of Board meetings may be closed to the public such as consideration of real estate transactions, personnel matters, student hearings, and legal matters.

If You Wish To Address the Board

Citizens wishing to address Austin School District Trustees at regular Board meetings should be aware of the following changes to Board policy regarding Citizen's Communication:

1. At regular Board meetings, Citizen's Communication shall be scheduled for one hour as an agenda item. The overall time limit for public comment at Board meetings shall be 60 minutes. No presentation shall exceed two minutes, persons may not relinquish time to another speaker, and there is a limit of 30 speakers.

2. A person or representative of a group or organization shall be required to sign up on a form provided by the Board prior to the beginning of the meeting. On the day of the Board meeting, the sign-up sheet for citizen's communication shall be available in the Superintendent's Office during regular work hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.) and in the meeting location from 4:45 p.m. to the beginning of the meeting. The person signing up shall give the subject to be addressed, his or her name, address, and telephone number, and, if applicable, the group or organization the person represents.

3. No person shall be permitted to sign up for another person nor shall anyone be permitted to exchange time or yield time to persons not signed up.

4. Citizen's Communication shall be available on a first-come, first-served basis.