Two Austin nonprofits are racing to cover what AISD's budget can't this school year.

Communities In Schools of Central Texas closed its Refuse to Lose campaign Aug. 31 having raised more than $354,200 to keep student support staff on 19 campuses—while Austin Ed Fund will hand-deliver $350,000 to 48 teacher-led projects across the district Sept. 2.

By the numbers: The AISD board of trustees voted in June to adopt an $887 million budget, closing a $181 million shortfall through cuts that grew to $205 million gross.
The district's real deficit for the year before came in at $105 million, five times the $19 million originally adopted, while its state financial rating dropped to a B for the first time since 2017.

What's next: CIS's Refuse to Lose campaign met its matched-giving goal by the Aug. 31 deadline. Austin Ed Fund accepts campus-specific gifts year-round at www.austinedfund.org and holds its Inspire the Future Luncheon Oct. 20.

Austin could spend more than $3 million on a new forensics evidence storage facility lease due to the delayed opening of its Public Safety Warehouse.

The setup: The city budgeted about $46 million in 2024 to buy the new warehouse at 11708 McAngus Road, Bldg. 4., Austin. The more than 14-acre facility is expected to support multiple public safety departments including Austin Emergency Management, Austin Fire, Austin Police, Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services and Austin Forensic Science, including evidence storage.

The Southeast Austin site requires several fixes before those departments can move in. A warranty claim issue—a leaky roof—was identified last February, and as of this summer the city is still assessing subsurface conditions across the warehouse property.

Texas senators indicated Sept. 1 that they intend to tighten regulations on data centers during next year’s legislative session, which begins in January.

What they're saying: “I think every member's district has had an impact from a data center conversation, so there will be plenty of bills trying to put things in place that are reasonable, responsible regulatory frameworks for data centers,” state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said.

The big picture: With some Texas residents and conservation groups sounding the alarm about water-intensive technologies used by some data centers, state agencies have warned that limited information is available on how much water the industry actually uses. Officials said they have also had trouble determining exactly how many data centers are operating in the state today, as there is no “comprehensive statewide list” of existing and planned facilities.

Estimates from state agencies and the University of Texas at Austin suggest that roughly 370 data centers are currently operating in Texas, with about 100 facilities under construction and another 180 being proposed.