BG Reads | News You Need to Know (November 10, 2021)
Sam Houston Building, Texas Capital Complex
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin ISD didn’t increase enrollment this year, meaning staff won’t get annual raises (KUT)
The Austin Independent School District didn’t meet its enrollment goals for this school year, according to data collected for the state in October.
The school district lost thousands of students last school year during the COVID-19 pandemic and was hoping to see 77,331 students enrolled in AISD schools this year. Instead, there are 74,727 students.
State funding is tied to enrollment. Not meeting the enrollment goal means the district lost around $15 million in funding.
Alejandro Delgado, executive director of enrollment and advocacy, says he has “mixed feelings” about this year’s enrollment, which almost exactly matches last year’s total of 74,725.
“On the one hand, [I'm] disappointed that we didn’t hit our goal,” Delgado said. “But on the other hand, really hopeful, because we stopped the decline after what a terrible year COVID was.”
Typically, district staff get an annual raise that can vary. Over the summer, Education Austin, the labor union of AISD employees, asked for a 2% raise for staff. Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde said the district could afford that raise only if the district met enrollment goals. She gave teachers and staff a one-time payment of $1,000 and said there would be 2% raises if the district met its enrollment goals in the upcoming school year.
“We didn’t meet that, which means that we aren’t going to be getting that 2% raise, but we are going to continue supporting our staff,” district spokesperson Cristina Nguyen said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin targets 2022 for purchase of large multifamily development using Project Connect anti-displacement funds (Community Impact)
In February, the Austin City Council allocated $23 million to counter displacement resulting from Project Connect, the $7.1 billion investment in public transit. Now, the city is moving closer to putting those dollars to use, staff said during a Nov. 9 housing and planning committee meeting.
As a part of the Project Connect package, voters approved $300 million in funding for anti-displacement efforts that aim to limit the rising housing costs that tend to follow significant public transit improvements. The $23 million approved in February will be the first step in using those funds.
During the meeting, Travis Perlman, a housing and planning department project coordinator with the city, presented two approaches for how the city might use the anti-displacement dollars. One program, geared at protecting existing affordable housing, would target the purchase of a larger development with between 100 to 300 units by the end of 2022.
“The larger development allows us to get the economies of scale to drive our subsidy per unit down to what we're typically seeing for affordable housing programs,” Perlman said. “[It] essentially allows us to extend our limited dollars as far as we can.”
The second program, known as the Project Connect Anti-Displacement Community Acquisition Program, or ADCAP, would provide 0% interest forgivable and non-forgivable loans to nonprofits with experience in affordable housing in Austin. That plan is aimed at acquiring vacant properties in gentrifying areas within 1 mile of a proposed bus or rail line, according to city documents… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The University of Austin, focused on 'the intrepid pursuit of truth' (Austin American-Statesman)
The University of Austin, a private liberal arts school, is planning to open soon in the state’s capital in response to what some perceive as a culture of censorship on college campuses. But it still needs accreditation, a physical location and an undergraduate program.
Pano Kanelos, the incoming president of the University of Austin, announced the formation of the nonprofit university Monday on the Substack newsletter platform in the publication “Common Sense” by former New York Times journalist Bari Weiss.
Kanelos, the former president of St. John's College, a small private school with a curriculum focused on classics from Western civilization, said he is helping establish the university in response to institutions that produce graduates who are “incapable and unwilling to participate in the core activity of democratic governance.” He said the university will be focused on “the intrepid pursuit of truth” and exposing students to “the deepest wisdom of civilization.”
“The reality is that many universities no longer have an incentive to create an environment where intellectual dissent is protected and fashionable opinions are scrutinized,” Kanelos said. “At our most prestigious schools, the primary incentive is to function as finishing school for the national and global elite.”
The University of Austin, also known by its abbreviation UATX, is not offering degrees and does not plan to offer an undergraduate degree program until at least 2024. The school is still in the process of securing land in the Austin area for a physical campus, and it is seeking millions in donations for scholarships and to help establish its programs.
The institution also is seeking accreditation from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and initial accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission. Heather Berg, director of communications and strategic projects for the commission, said the accreditation process can take between one and seven years.
The school said it might offer other programs in partnership with an accredited institution until it is accredited… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Biden’s infrastructure plan will set aside about $35 billion for Texas projects (Texas Tribune)
The White House estimates that Texas will receive about $35.44 billion over five years for roads, bridges, pipes, ports, broadband access and other projects after federal lawmakers passed a long-anticipated national infrastructure bill on Friday.
The influx of capital is set to advance existing transit plans, pay for much-needed repairs and could lay the groundwork toward increasing transportation options for Texans.
U.S. House lawmakers gave the roughly $1.2 trillion measure final approval late Friday after a series of negotiations and concessions to get the bill passed. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
“The need for action in Texas is clear,” a White House fact sheet read. “For decades, infrastructure in Texas has suffered from a systemic lack of investment.”
The funds expected to come to Texas were determined by the White House through the bill’s state allotment formula. Texas will also have the opportunity to apply for grants in a variety of categories in addition to these funds.
It’s unclear how the money will be spent or what projects it will fund at this point, but the dollars will be set aside for a variety of new and maintenance projects, from highway expansions and broadband access to modernizing public transit throughout the state.
Here is the breakdown of the funds that Texas is expected to receive based on estimates from the White House:
Federal highway programs: $26.9 billion
Public transportation: $3.3 billion
Drinking water infrastructure (and removing lead pipes): $2.9 billion
Airports: $1.2 billion
Bridge replacement and repairs: $537 million
Electric vehicle charging network: $408 million
Broadband expansion: $100 million
Wildfire protection: $53 million
Cyberattacks protection: $42 million… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Houston's two largest community banks are merging to create institution with $11B in assets (Houston Chronicle)
The two largest community banks in Houston are merging. Allegiance Bank and CommunityBank of Texas said Monday that they will combine in merger of equals that will create a financial institution with more than $11 billion in assets. The name of the combined company has yet to be determined. The merger move comes amid increased competition in the region from large national banks that dominate the market in Houston. PNC Financial Services Group of Pittsburgh, for example, recently entered the Houston market following its $11.6 billion acquisition of the U.S. operations of the Spanish bank BBVA. Allegiance has about $6.8 billion in assets and 27 banking locations in the region, according to the announcement; CommunityBank has about $4.07 billion and 35 locations across the state.
The move follows a massive influx of business for Allegiance last year, as thousands of small businesses turned to the bank for help processing loans under the Payroll Protection Program. In a statement, the banks said the merger will better position them to assist “underserved” local communities by combining their shared “culture, strategic vision and commitment to our stakeholders.” “This transaction is a true merger of equals, combining the best of our highly-respected community banks which better positions us to serve our customers and drive enhanced financial performance," said Allegiance CEO Steve Retzloff. "Our companies complement each other beautifully and the combined company will be a formidable competitor across our markets.” Retzloff will become the executive chairman of the combined company, while CommunityBank CEO Bob Franklin will serve as CEO of the combined company. "Bringing two of the Houston region's best community banks together is a great thing for our communities, CommunityBank CEO Bob Franklin said in a statement. “Allegiance is a trusted, local bank, and there is no better team with which to unite to work together to preserve the tradition of community banking, while meeting the diverse needs of the customers that we serve." The merger is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Astronauts not expected to walk on moon before 2025, NASA says (Houston Chronicle)
NASA does not expect astronauts will walk on the moon before 2025 — the first formal acknowledgment that the agency will not meet the 2024 deadline set by former President Donald Trump to coincide with his planned second term in office. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson blamed litigation surrounding the human landing system for this “likely” delay. NASA selected SpaceX to build the system that would lower astronauts to the lunar surface; Blue Origin fought that decision for seven months. Just last week, a federal judge dismissed its lawsuit and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said the company would respect the court’s judgment. Nelson also cited a lack of funding for this human landing system and the former Trump Administration’s policies for why NASA won’t return to the moon in 2024.
“The Trump Administration target of a 2024 human landing was not grounded in technical feasibility,” Nelson said during a news conference. Tuesday’s announcement is just the latest delay for NASA’s Artemis program that’s seeking to return humans to the moon. Last month, NASA announced that the Artemis I mission — the first uncrewed launch of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft — would not launch this year. It’s now targeting February 2022. Nelson said Tuesday that Artemis II — the first crewed flight that will send astronauts around the moon — is targeting May 2024. It was previously scheduled for April 2023. Then astronauts would land on the moon “no earlier” than 2025. “NASA’s operations and those of our commercial partners has to improve,” Nelson said during a news conference. “There are several steps we are taking to better position the agency and the Artemis program for success.” Space experts have long thought that 2024 was an unrealistic goal. Phil Smith, a space industry analyst at BryceTech, called it an “arbitrary” date. “While it is conceivable to technically pull off the mission by that year, the budget did not and does not support this objective,” he said in an email… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
A secret tape made after Columbine shows the NRA's evolution on school shootings (NPR)
Soon after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, senior leaders of the National Rifle Association huddled on a conference call to consider canceling their annual convention, scheduled just days later and a few miles away. Thirteen people lay dead at a high school in Colorado. More than 20 were injured. Images of students running from the school were looped on TV. The NRA strategists on the call sounded shaken and panicked as they pondered their next step into what would become an era of routine and horrific mass school shootings. And in those private moments, the NRA considered a strikingly more sympathetic posture toward mass shootings than the uncompromising stance it has taken publicly in the decades since, even considering a $1 million fund to care for the victims.
NPR has obtained more than 2 1/2 hours of recordings of those private meetings after the Columbine shooting, which offer unique insight into the NRA's deliberations in the wake of this crisis — and how it has struggled to develop what has become its standard response to school shootings ever since. "Everything we do here has a downside," NRA official Kayne Robinson says on the tapes. "Don't anybody kid yourself about this great macho thing of going down there and showing our chest and showing how damn tough we are. ... We are in deep s*** on this deal. ... And so anything we do here is going to be a matter of trying to decide the best of a whole bunch of very, very bad choices." The tapes of the NRA discussions were recorded secretly by a participant and shared on the condition that the participant's name not be divulged.
NPR has taken steps to verify the tapes' authenticity, including by confirming the identities of those speaking on the tapes with two sources and comparing the voices on the calls with publicly available audio. In addition to mapping out their national strategy, NRA leaders can also be heard describing the organization's more activist members in surprisingly harsh terms, deriding them as "hillbillies" and "fruitcakes" who might go off script after Columbine and embarrass them. And they dismiss conservative politicians and gun industry representatives as largely inconsequential players, saying they will do whatever the NRA proposes. Members of Congress, one participant says, have asked the NRA to "secretly provide them with talking points."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)