On Tuesday, Austin Independent School District Superintendent Pat Forgione presented his 2003-2004 AISD budget proposal to the AISD board of trustees. The district is trying to find $59 million in savings, the amount of the budget shortfall it expects in next year’s budget. Forgione, calling the paper “a starting point,” has recruited a 28-member task force to review the proposed cuts, which include eliminating as many as 450 teaching positions through attrition, larger class size, and direct cuts (e.g., the proposed elimination of 99 art, music, and physical-education teachers). Overall, the proposed cuts are distributed as follows: money from district fund balance ($25.5 million); cuts from central administration ($6.1 million); from campus nonteaching staff ($10 million); from teaching positions ($17 million). Forgione’s proposals, described in his “Working Paper on Budget Reductions,” were presented on Wednesday to the task force, which will review the proposals and present its own recommendations by Feb. 28. Public forums on the budget will be held March 4 and 5. — Michael King
At press time Wednesday, attorneys for the Save Our Springs Alliance, Stratus Properties, and the city of Austin were headed to court for a hearing on a lawsuit stemming from last year’s controversial development deal between the city and Stratus. SOS sued both parties, claiming the city’s water-quality ordinance supersedes Stratus’ “grandfather” status under HB 1704, a state law allowing developers to build under pre-existing rules. Stratus and the city were seeking a summary judgment on the lawsuit. — Amy Smith
Envision Central Texas has announced the “test sites” for its upcoming local-planning workshops — smaller-scale versions of the community events ECT held last fall, these looking at individual sites (ranging from 45-400 acres) throughout the five-county Austin metro area. The projects will “allow citizens, community leaders, and planning consultants to test various planning strategies on a small, local level,” says ECT Chair Neal Kocurek. The test sites are located in East Austin (the Featherlite tract near MLK and Airport), Lockhart, Pflugerville, Bastrop, Dripping Springs, and the outskirts of Cedar Park (around the McNeil railroad junction). The workshops will be held in early February; visit www.envisioncentraltexas.org to learn more. — M.C.M.
Kristen Vassallo, top aide to former Mayor Kirk Watson, has joined the public relations firm of TateAustin. She’ll head the agency’s public-affairs division, drawing on her connections to broaden the firm’s reach. Vassallo last served as Watson’s campaign manager in his bruising bid for attorney general. She has also worked for former Council Member Bill Spelman, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, and for Ann Richards’ gubernatorial campaign. Vassallo’s husband, John Fitzpatrick, is vice-president of the Austin ISD board; last week, the district hired Watson as a lobbyist for the legislative session. — A.S.
The Downtown route for the Lance Armstrong Bikeway has yet to be decided, but it’s positively Fourth Street for supporters of the project. Proponents have a Web site, www.lancearmstrongbikeway.org, enumerating all the reasons why Fourth is the right choice and Third — the route favored by council member and mayoral candidate Will Wynn — is the wrong choice. — A.S.
At least seven Austin Emergency Medical Services paramedics have filed a class-action lawsuit against the city, claiming that for at least two years the city has failed to correctly calculate and pay overtime wages. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, “overtime” means more than 40 hours a week, but for employees “engaged in fire protection or law enforcement activities,” it means more than 129 hours over three weeks. The city, which until 1995 classified paramedics as firefighters, now treats them under this exemption — incorrectly, says attorney Craig Deats, who adds he has not found any other municipality currently claiming such an exemption. Deats said that the number of plaintiffs could swell to include more of Austin’s nearly 150 paramedics in nonsupervisory positions; exactly how much money is involved will remain undetermined until the class is finalized. Deats expects the city’s initial response within a month. — Jordan Smith
The city’s always lively neighborhood-planning program is set for another date with the City Council on Jan. 30, when the council is scheduled to finally pass, on third reading, an ordinance prescribing the process under which plans can be amended. Currently, the ordinance calls for a one-year moratorium on plan amendments — that is, most zoning changes — after a plan is adopted, and establishes a twice-a-year review cycle thereafter. But the draft also allows for several exceptions, including some for city-certified SMART Housing projects; other proposed exceptions (many suggested by the Real Estate Council of Austin) would allow projects that provide environmental or transportation benefits, or that create jobs, to be submitted at any time. These exceptions are not popular with the leaders of many existing neighborhood-planning teams; though the public hearing on the issue is officially closed, it may be reopened by the council to take additional input in light of recent changes to the draft. — M.C.M.
The Save Our Springs Alliance is looking for an eye-catching design to grace its next line of T-shirts. The prize? A free T-shirt and the satisfaction of seeing dozens and dozens of folks wearing a product wrought by your very own hand. Entry designs must be camera-ready with a two-color front and a one-color back. Remember to include the words “Barton Springs” in the design, as well as the Alliance Web address, www.sosalliance.org, which is also where you can look for inspiration and additional details. Send entries to SOS Alliance, 221 E. Ninth #201, Austin, TX 78701, or e-mail melanie@sosalliance.org. — A.S.
This article appears in January 24 • 2003.