AISD debates $883 million bond proposal

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Here in Central Texas, local school leaders are considering taking on more debt to pay for big projects. Austin ISD's school board held a rare Saturday meeting to talk about the district's biggest bond proposal ever.

The pressure is on to finalize the bond package before the board's deadline on Monday.

The bond package they're proposing is the largest in the District's history: $883 million.

The meeting Saturday lasted more than five hours as the board grappled over adding another $9 million to the package. They also discussed possibly adding a fifth proposition just for the School for Young Men. 

If approved by voters in May, taxes would increase for home and property owners.

The district says while they agree the bond is asking for a lot of money, all the proposals are necessary.

"Even though people have asked for more than a billion dollars we have settled on what AISD really needs and how we can plan for the future and really think of this in a several year time frame," said AISD Superintendent Dr. Meria Carstarphen.

The board will meet on Monday at the regularly scheduled board meeting to determine whether or not they will approve the order to call for an election.

While the board members talked mainly about the bond proposal at the special meeting, the subject of Eastside Memorial High School was also a hot topic.

AISD has to come up with some plan for the troubled low-performing school by the end of May.

The Texas Education Agency gave AISD three choices for Eastside: close it down, go back to its contract with IDEA Charter Schools, or turn the campus over to a non-profit charter group or another district.