The Austin ISD Board of Trustees on Thursday OK'd a 2025-26 budget that has a projected deficit of $19.7 million. The new fiscal year begins July 1.

Austin ISD interim Chief Financial Officer Katrina Montgomery told trustees that while they were asked to approve a deficit budget, the district will continue working on ways to reduce it.

“We didn’t get where we wanted to this year having a balanced budget," she said, "but that is still something that we are going to work hard at, is making sure we have a balanced budget year over year over year."

The plan trustees approved includes for the district’s general fund, which is used to pay for things like salaries, school maintenance, transportation and utility bills. More than $715 million of that will also be used for Austin ISD’s recapture payment.

The Texas Legislature in the early 1990s to redistribute money from districts with high property values to those with lower ones. According to the state’s current school finance formulas, Austin ISD collects more in local property tax revenue than it needs to operate. That’s why it has to send a big chunk of its general fund revenue to the state.

The budget's approval was coupled with a vote to change the on the district’s fund balance, which is the cash it has on hand to cover expenses such as payroll. Austin ISD has been required to maintain a 20% fund balance, giving it the ability to cover several months' worth of operating expenses without having to borrow money.

Trustees voted to lower that threshold to 15% � a policy that will be in place until the 2027-28 fiscal year. Superintendent Matias Segura said 15% amounts to about two months of the district’s expenditures, and he would never want to go below that threshold.

“Our preference is 20%, we want to get up to 20%, but we already cut a lot in [the 2025-26 budget],� he said.

Part of the plan to get back to a 20% fund balance in the next few years is making additional spending cuts by doing things such as consolidating schools.

What budget cuts is the district making? 

The projected $19.7 million shortfall is much lower than the $78 million deficit budget the school board adopted last year. Austin ISD’s deficit ballooned to over $100 million during the last fiscal year, though. The district has said a variety of factors increased the deficit, such as lower than expected growth in property values, a loss of federal funding for certain special education services and additional expenses for things like instructional materials.

Austin ISD officials said they had to significantly reduce the budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year to prevent the fund balance from getting too low. To get to $19.7 million, the district identified $44 million in cuts. Among them are slashing the central administrative office staff by 20% and requiring departments to reduce their budgets.

Trustee Kevin Foster thanked Austin ISD administrators for their work on the budget in the face of significant challenges.

"We're being put to the test right now, probably like never before," he said.

In addition to spending cuts, Austin ISD will also rely on new sources of revenue to chip away at its budget shortfall. It’s anticipating an influx of $45 million from selling district properties. An $8.5 billion school funding bill the Texas Legislature passed this year also means more money for the district.

Will teachers get raises under the new budget? 

Austin ISD estimates it will receive $36 million in funding under the new legislation � House Bill 2. But the bulk of that must be spent in specific ways. HB 2, for example, requires large school districts to give teachers with three to five years of experience a $2,500 raise. Those with five or more years of experience will get a $5,000 pay bump.

“Our preliminary estimates from HB 2 is that we will receive $17.4 million [for raises],� Montgomery told trustees.

She said approximately 600 teachers will receive the $2,500 raise. Another 3,000 are expected to get the $5,000 increase. Last year, Austin ISD relied on a tax rate election to cover the cost of making market adjustments to teacher salaries.

Montgomery said the district will meet with Education Austin, a union representing Austin ISD employees, to finalize the compensation plan in July.

The school board is slated to vote on that plan on Aug. 21. The district will send letters out on Sept. 15 to employees getting pay increases.

On a recent spring afternoon, Aalo Atomics' cavernous manufacturing space in Southwest Austin was quiet. Staffers had shut down the machines on the shop floor as they prepared to unveil a technology the CEO believes will change the future of electricity.

“Right now we’re coming up to the reactor vessel,� Matt Loszak said, pulling aside a big black curtain to reveal a cylindrical shining steel tank.

The vessel, displayed under a futuristic blue light, was 20 feet tall, about the size of a shipping container. Next to it, Loszak gestured to more metal components, the guts of the reactor.

“This is where the nuclear fuel would go,� he said.

To be clear, there was none of that fuel present. These small modular nuclear reactors � Loszak called them microreactors � are still in their testing phase. But they are a key part of the built-to-order nuclear power plants Aalo wants to mass produce to .

And it wasn’t just the reactors Loszak was showing off; it was the manufacturing facility itself.

“This is, essentially, the world's first factory that can produce nuclear power plants kind of wholesale,� he said. “So, not just the reactor, but also the whole plant.�

That is, if things go according to plan.

Aalo is one of a handful of nuclear companies now operating in Texas hoping to get in on the ground floor of a new atomic age.

An answer to the power crunch

Texas consumes more electricity than any other state by a wide margin and in energy consumption per capita.

It also is the only state in the lower 48 that operates its own power grid. That grid, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT, is known for its ease-of-entry for new power generators.

But that’s not the only reason new nuclear firms have been attracted to the state.

“Texas is just an energy leader,� Loszak said, citing its deep pool of industry talent, from the oil, gas and renewable sectors and new state programs to foster and finance nuclear technology.

Those programs took shape after Gov. Greg Abbott kicked off this year’s legislative session with calls for a new “nuclear renaissance� to jump-start the industry.

A forecast from ERCOT had found that Texas energy demand could almost double by 2030, in large part because of the influx in AI data centers.

Analysts warned that, if the forecast was even close to accurate, it could pose a threat to a state power grid that has already delivered one major blackout and several close calls this decade.

Nuclear power currently accounts for only 10% of the energy consumed in the state, generated at the Comanche Peak and South Texas Project nuclear power plants.

Abbott and others saw more nuclear energy as the answer to the power crunch.

Lawmakers responded to the governor’s urging by passing the .

The law created a state office to promote the industry � and set aside $350 million for public financing of nuclear projects.

Private companies are already planning to build small modular nuclear reactors and .

Research centers, some of which received their own dedicated funding, are also hoping to build test reactors to find safer ways to produce nuclear power at and.

“Nuclear power provides the most reliable and energy dense electricity available to mankind,� the Texas Nuclear Deployment Act’s author, Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said on the House floor. “Investment in nuclear generation will ... create tens of thousands of high-wage jobs for Texans up and down the nuclear value chain from uranium mining and enrichment to technology development and advanced manufacturing.�

Harris argued a nuclear renaissance starting in Texas will soon spread beyond the state’s borders, answering rising energy demand and maintaining grid reliability.

Not everyone is as enthusiastic.

‘One accident will wipe us out�

Diane Wilson is a fourth-generation shrimper in the Gulf Coast town of Seadrift. She has spent decades trying to stop local petrochemical companies from contaminating the coast and degrading the fishery.

Wilson won a major victory in 2019, when the plastics manufacturer Formosa agreed to a after she showed it had been illegally discharging plastic pellets into Matagorda Bay for years.

She said the industry’s environmental record leaves her deeply concerned about plans to build a small modular reactor to power a plastics factory in Seadrift.

“We aim to stop this project in its tracks,� Wilson said of the nuclear plant, which is still years away from construction.

“Nobody has bothered to talk to people who might have some concerns, like the fisherman,� she said. “We are a fishing community. One accident will wipe us out!�

Similar projects are likely to attract resistance as well from people concerned about the risks posed by reactor accidents and radioactive waste, complicating plans for a new nuclear age in Texas and elsewhere.

Aside from environmental concerns, some doubt the small reactors touted by the industry are ready to answer the country’s looming power crunch.

“I’m not afraid of the technology. I’m afraid of the cost of the technology,� said Dennis Walmsted, an analyst with the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Nuclear power plants are expensive to build. They are also notorious for and . While those are problems that small modular reactors are supposed to solve, Walmstead points out that those have never actually been deployed commercially in the U.S.

“Until you build one or five, you don’t know how long it’s gonna take,� Walmstead said. “Until you build one or five, you really have no idea what it’s gonna cost, because you haven’t built one!�

Increased demand from AI data centers

But back at the Aalo Atomics facility in Austin, Loszak is confident his company can build one and then many, many more.

He said deep-pocketed tech companies with a “higher willingness to pay upfront� have changed the calculus around what's possible in the world of advanced nuclear technology.

“The amazingly fortunate thing is that right now we have that type of demand � for the first time, really � since the creation of nuclear energy,� Loszak said. “Which is from these AI data centers.�

While Aalo plans to start in the next 12 months, actually delivering electricity is still years away. The company is betting that demand will still be there when the reactors are ready.

The Fourth of July lands on a Friday this year, so many Americans will have a three-day weekend. If you're interested in celebrating, here are some go-to spots.

Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic

Willie Nelson’s iconic 4th of July Picnic is back at the Germania Amphitheater this year. The legendary singer has hosted this event since 1972. This year's concert includes a classic lineup of Bob Dylan, The Avett Brothers, The Mavericks and more. Enjoy the music with food, drinks and a firework show. Performances kick off at 4 p.m., and general admission tickets start at $65. More details about the event and tickets can be found .

Star Spangled Fest

Celebrating its 48th season, the Star Spangled Fest invites Austinites to Auditorium Shores for live music, local eats, drinks, games and a lakefront fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. The Austin Symphony Orchestra plays at 8:30 p.m. Admission is free, but attendees can buy tickets for VIP access to cabanas, picnic, AC and more .

Morning Spin at Star Spangled Fest

Celebrate early with house music, coffee, drinks and food trucks at Auditorium Shores. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. start at $25.

Hill Country Galleria Independence Day Celebration

From 4 to 10 p.m., enjoy live music, more than 40 vendors, fair rides, water games, fireworks and face painting. are free, and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs.

Cedar Park 4th of July Celebration 

Cedar Park offers family fun with live music, carnival rides, inflatable attractions, food vendors, a fireworks display and a screening of Despicable Me 4 after the fireworks. The free event begins at 5 p.m., and fireworks start at 9:30 p.m. Information on parking can be found .

Red, White, & Blue Owl - Fourth of July Party

If you're not interested in minions, Blue Owl Brewing is hosting its annual party with drinks and games from noon to 10 p.m. There's a water balloon toss at 1 p.m. and watermelon eating contests at 3 p.m.

Looking to celebrate a day early?

Star Spangled Fest kicks off the holiday early with the Independence Eve Party. Reckless Kelly and friends headline the concert inside The Long Center at 7 p.m., and start around $30.

Bastrop Big Bang Celebration 

Bastrop is kicking off its downtown extravaganza this Fourth of July bright and early at 8 a.m. this Saturday. Fireworks on the Fisherman's Park go off at sunset. Free admission and parking is available. Find more information .

Animal shelters across the Austin area are teaming up to hold a “name your price� adoption special this weekend. Shelters hope to rehome 250 animals before the Fourth of July, when shelter employees say a record number of pets turn up missing each year.

Shelter staff say summer is already a tough time for them. It’s difficult to keep kennels cool during triple-digit heat. Unexpected storms cause an uptick in pets escaping home and winding up at shelters. People are also more likely to move or take long trips over the summer, which means more requests to surrender pets. That's when people decide they can no longer take care of their animals and hand them over to a shelter.

Sarah Hammel, director of communications at Austin Humane Society, said the shelter has a four-to-six-week waitlist for dog surrenders because it's already overcrowded. The Austin Animal Center has been at “critical capacity� for over a month, program manager Elizabeth Ferrer said. The center has over 100 dogs more than it should.

But the peak for Austin area shelters isn't here yet.

“It’s just busy all the time," Hammel said. "There’s always a need. And then during Fourth of July into July Fifth, it’s the number one day where dogs get lost, get out, run stray, get picked up � because of fireworks.�

Fireworks also present a challenge for dogs already inside kennels. Austin Pets Alive’s shelter is located near the city’s firework show. Even if only a few dogs are scared of the loud noises, their reaction can scare other pets in the shelter, Suzie Chase, community affairs leader for Austin Pets Alive, said.

“If they can be in a home, that’s better for all of the animals,� she said.

Chase said she hopes the “name your price� adoption event on Saturday and Sunday will help shelters make room for the inevitable surge of lost dogs over the holiday weekend. The eight participating shelters and rescues have a collective goal to find homes for 250 pets.

There are thousands of pets of all ages, sizes and breeds available for adoption across the city. But Hammel said it’s often the high-energy, large-breed dogs that don’t get picked.

“So if you’re a hiker, if you’re a runner, if you’re training for a half marathon, come out to a shelter this weekend and adopt yourself a running buddy,� she said.

Anyone interested in adopting a pet can choose how much they pay for the adoption fee during the special this weekend. If you need financial assistance after adopting an animal, Austin Animal Center offers for residents in Austin and the unincorporated areas of AGÕæÈË°Ù¼ÒÀÖ County.

Here’s a list of participating organizations:

• Austin Animal Center 
• Austin Pets Alive!
• Austin Humane Society 
• Pflugerville Animal Shelter 
• Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter 
• Jack Jack’s Pack 
• Love-A-Bull 
• TRAPRS

This story has been updated with the school board's vote to approve the plan.

The Austin ISD school board voted Thursday to approve a that have received consecutive failing grades from the state. The district must submit turnaround plans for Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools to the Texas Education Agency by Monday.

The board’s decision is the culmination of a whirlwind few months that has left families, students and educators reeling as Austin ISD prepares to overhaul schools to avoid state sanctions.

The stakes for the entire district are high. If any campus gets failing grades five years in a row from the TEA, the Texas education commissioner can remove the elected school board and replace them with a board of managers. This type of takeover happened in Houston ISD in 2023, and earlier this month the .

Burnet, Dobie and Webb are nearing the threshold that would prompt state intervention. In April, all three schools officially received their second consecutive “F� rating when 2023 A-F accountability ratings, which were delayed by a lawsuit, were released. While the 2024 ratings are tied up in court by another lawsuit, Austin ISD officials have said those schools are set to receive a third failing grade. The district expects the campuses to get their fourth “F� when TEA releases 2025 accountability ratings in August.

The ratings are primarily based on how students perform on state standardized tests. The overwhelming majority of students at all three middle schools are considered economically disadvantaged. STAAR results released this month show Austin ISD is struggling to close the achievement gap between students from low-income and wealthier households.

Additionally a majority of students at Burnet, Dobie and Webb are considered emergent bilingual, meaning they are fluent in one language and learning English. Starting in sixth grade, STAAR tests are offered only in English.

To avoid a similar fate to Houston ISD, Austin had several options, which included closing the campuses or partnering with a charter school to run them.

In the face of public outcry to keep the schools open, administrators opted to pursue a district-managed restart, basically meaning they came up with a plan to overhaul the schools and invest additional resources in them.

Austin ISD’s chief of governmental relations, Jacob Reach, told trustees at the board meeting Thursday why the district pursued this option.

"It is aligned with the request that we keep these campuses open," he said, "that we believe in these campuses and support them and operate them as a district campus."

The TEA must approve the plan. The agency has until July 18 to say whether it has accepted the turnaround plans as is or if Austin ISD needs to make any changes. The proposal Austin ISD is submitting still allows it to partner with a charter school to run the campuses if needed.

The restart plans are based on the Accelerating Campus Excellence, or ACE, model, which requires major changes to staffing, the school day and an infusion of resources that range from offering more mental health services to providing students three meals a day. According to a , more than 40 schools statewide were using this model.

Here's a look at the model Austin ISD is following to try to improve schools.

The ACE model requires a lot of resources

The restart plan Austin ISD has proposed is going to cost an estimated $1.7 million per campus � all while the district is slashing spending elsewhere to dig its way out of a $93 million budget deficit. Andrew Hodge, the TEA’s associate commissioner of system innovation, said the ACE model is resource-intensive.

“It is sending what we know works in schools to those schools. And so that is the best teachers, that is more time, that is wraparound services for students and it’s really engaging with community [and] ensuring that the campus is delivering on what the community wants,� he said.

Chris DeWitt, director of the TEA’s division of system support, said while the model has proved to improve student outcomes, the resources it requires mean districts have to be strategic when implementing it.

“It’s not a play you can call at every campus in the district across the board," he said. "It needs to be really targeted to your highest need campuses to rapidly improve those outcomes."

The lion’s share of that $1.7 million will go toward staff compensation, including stipends to attract and retain teachers. The restart plans require teachers at Burnet, Dobie and Webb to in order to work at the middle schools.

“What we know from research is that the number one most important in-school factor in kids' learning is the quality of the teacher in the classroom,� Hodge said.

According to Austin ISD, 68% of teaching staff at Burnet were invited to return because they met the plan's criteria. At Dobie, the figure was 32%; and for Webb, it was 57%. This turnover prompted students at all three middle schools to stage walkouts in support of their teachers.

Hodge said while the ACE model is based on tried and true practices for improving student outcomes � like hiring more experienced teachers � it’s crucial to engage the community in these changes.

“No school improvement effort, no school redesign effort, no school transformation effort will ever go, in our experience, incredibly successfully if you don’t start day one alongside with the community,� he said.

Has the ACE model improved student performance?

Courtney Isaak Pichon, the chief partnerships officer with Good Reason Houston, has seen firsthand how the implementation of the ACE model can bolster student performance. Her group works with school districts in the Houston area to improve student outcomes. She said the ACE model is the cornerstone of the strategy to do that.

“My headline for you is ACE works," she said. "The data shows it, and we need to scale these best practices so that more schools and more students benefit across the state."

Good Reason Houston has worked with Aldine ISD to implement the ACE model at two elementary schools. Isaak Pichon said when her group compared student performance at those two schools with 10 of the most similar campuses across Texas, students at the ACE campuses had higher student achievement and growth.

She added that Black students, emergent bilingual students and students receiving special education services at Aldine ACE campuses also had better academic outcomes than at other schools in the district.

“When you boil it all down, ACE is really just about having better talent and better instruction for students in underperforming schools,� she said. “Better talent means that districts� strongest teachers and leaders are in front of students that need them the most.�

Austin ISD officials said Aldine ISD is one of the districts they looked at when working on turnaround plans based on the ACE model.

Will the better results last?

While student achievement can improve quickly at campuses that use this model, test scores often fall back when the investment of additional resources ends.

Hodge said a of ACE within Dallas ISD found when the staff stipends were eliminated, it had an impact.

“A bunch of those highly effective teachers left and the test scores did fall,� he said.

Hodge said it's important for districts to figure out how they can continue to provide resources to these campuses to sustain their success.

David DeMatthews, a professor in the UT Austin College of Education, said the ACE model is just a temporary fix if there aren’t broader investments to increase teacher quality.

“In some ways, you’re just robbing Peter to pay Paul. You’re pulling out effective teachers from other parts of the school district and you’re moving them into the school with the greatest need,� he said. “You’re not necessarily creating and retaining more effective teachers across the district.�

DeMatthews also said while the model may give an immediate bump to student test scores, that’s not the be-all and end-all.

“One thing that worries me with the model is that Austin ISD is in hot water, maybe because they haven’t been paying as close attention to some of these schools as they should,� he said. “And now we’re going to implement a model that heavily prioritizes student achievement on standardized tests to get out of hot water, but that’s not necessarily what students need most from their teachers or from their school.�

While Austin ISD officials have expressed confidence that this model will improve student performance at the middle schools, they do have a backup plan. If test scores aren't where they need to be to avoid a fifth failing grade from the state, Austin ISD could decide in December to partner with charter schools to run the campuses.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last week that allows agencies to develop remote work policies under state supervision.

came in response to an executive action from the governor earlier this year. In March, he ordered all state agencies to abandon telework policies, arguing the state "must ensure taxpayer dollars are being utilized efficiently."

State employees who'd been dependent on remote work argued the order would upend their lives, and agencies struggled to find office space and parking for returning employees after scaling down during the pandemic.

Maggie DiSanza with the Texas State Employees Union said the governor's signature wasn't altogether shocking. TSEU lobbied in favor of HB 5196, pointing to the that found productivity didn't dip amid an increase in remote work, and it helped reduce turnover at state agencies after years of attrition. Ultimately, that study helped marshal the bipartisan support to get the bill over the finish line, DiSanza said.

"We know that state employees are just as � if not more —productive when they're working from home," she said. "So, I think we just kind of saw the backlash from that. And luckily it was a legislative session, and there was time to do something about it."

KUT News reached out to Gov. Abbott's office for a comment on the bill's passage, but did not hear back.

The law goes into effect Sept. 1.

This story was originally performed at KUT's ATXplained Live at Bass Concert Hall on Oct. 23, 2024. 

Austin's rain forecasts can be off at times. Folks on social media regularly report similar experiences � rain and storms in the forecast for what ends up being a beautiful sunny day.

This discrepancy has become a part of the Austin experience and has led to the conspiracy theory that there's an invisible dome over the city blocking any rain that might fall on it.

It's a favorite of one of Austin’s top conspiracy theorists � no, not Alex Jones; Evil MoPac. The X persona birthed out of a citywide hatred of a maligned freeway regularly posts theories online about a dome that covers the city and repels inbound storms.

The idea of a rain dome sounds like something straight out of The Simpsons, but the truth might be stranger than fiction. The inconsistent rain has to do with a large piece of exposed bedrock that has been in Central Texas long before people started gathering around Barton Springs.

What rocks have to do with it

The rock in question is the Balcones Escarpment, the long ridge west of Austin, sitting beneath Mount Bonnell and forming the eastern boundary of the Texas Hill Country. Peter Hennings, a geology professor at UT Austin, said the escarpment was formed by the same geological event that causes earthquakes.

“In Central Texas, we see evidence of ancient tectonic processes like the fault zone that forms the Balcones Escarpment,� he said.

The escarpment formed about 20 million years ago. The fault line that formed it hasn’t moved much since then, potentially being the cause of only two minor earthquakes in the last 130 years.

The edge of the fault sits about 700 feet higher than the land to the east, where Austin sits.

“This is a pretty distinct topographic rise, which is the first rise as we come off of the coastal plains and the Blackland Prairie into the Hill Country of Texas,� Hennings said.

This sudden elevation change happens in the same place many meteorologists have noticed something odd about Austin-bound storm systems.

The invisible dome

Spectrum meteorologist Dan Robertson said he has long noticed a pattern when observing storms headed to Austin from the west.

"It’s quite clear that the storms often come tearing up to the Balcones fault zone and then immediately fall apart as they continue eastward and then flare up again just as you get to the eastern part of AGÕæÈË°Ù¼ÒÀÖ County into Bastrop County,â€� he said. “I’ve seen it dozens of times, and it's one of those things as a forecaster that makes you just want to tear your hair out.â€�

Robertson said the sudden change in elevation can impact a storm system as it moves over the escarpment on the way to Austin.

“As the storms track eastward and then pass over the Balcones fault, all of a sudden, those storms are now much higher off the ground than they were, and that's going to disrupt the inflow to the storms,� he said.

The inflow of a storm sucks up the warm air and moisture that help power it. The sudden elevation change disrupts inflow and causes the storm to break up as it approaches Austin.

“It's like the bottom falls out," Robertson said, "and what happens is those storms have to reorganize their inflow."

The storms reorganize east of Austin, making for some infuriating storm radar images for rain lovers in the city. Austin is in the Goldilocks zone of storm disruptions.

The legend grows

The fault’s impact on eastbound storms may have led to residents' distrust of weather forecasts. Another local meteorologist, Avery Tomasco, said he believes there’s a psychological factor that builds on that distrust.

“Everyone seems to think they have their own personal rain dome," he said. "In their house, on their neighborhood, in their city. It can be big, it can be small, but everyone is convinced they have a rain dome."

While local weather forecasts aren't always wrong, Tomasco said, they're wrong enough to be noticeable.

“The guy said on TV, ‘Oh, it's gonna rain at your house,� and then it doesn't. Well, that’s gonna stand out,� he said. “If that happens more than once, then suddenly it becomes a tradition. ‘Oh, there's a dome at my house. There's a dome in my neighborhood. Shun the meteorologist!’�

So, the truth sounds like its own conspiracy theory. A large rock that was formed by a now-dormant fault line causes storms to break up for long enough to skip over Austin, driving rain lovers and local meteorologists a little crazy.

Georgetown City Council members have approved new ordinances related to homelessness, including a ban on people sitting, lying down or sleeping in public spaces downtown.

The vote Tuesday was unanimous. It came after advocates for people experiencing homelessness expressed concern during public comments about the impact of the rules.

Georgetown Police Chief Cory Tchida told council members at a meeting June 10 that his department has received numerous complaints about people and objects obstructing sidewalks downtown.

"After discussing the ramifications and the issues, we recommended some changes," he said. "I think it’s important to note that this particular ordinance [ban on sitting, lying down and sleeping] that we're recommending we change to is actually copied from the city of Austin."

Michelle Augustine, with the Georgetown Coalition for the Unhoused, said she believes the rules do more harm than good.

"I don’t want them sleeping around the square or out in the streets, but I don’t know where they’re supposed to go at night," she said Tuesday. "There isn't a safe place. We don't have housing. We don't have transitional housing. We don't have overnight sheltering."

Tchida said there are exceptions to the rules � people can sit or lie down in the case of a medical emergency, for example, or during a parade or festival. He said the rules will also apply only to people who received a warning from law enforcement within the past 12 months.

The police chief said another new rule seeks to protect people from "aggressive panhandling."

"It is established case law that panhandling is a First Amendment protected activity, but we can ... place restrictions on it," he said at the June 10 meeting. "So this will be a 'manner restriction,' if you will, that doesn't allow someone to lawfully panhandle or solicit in a violent or threatening way."

Council members also passed an ordinance that prevents the distribution of food and supplies in public parking lots. It also bans people from stopping, standing or parking a vehicle in a publicly owned or operated parking area for more than 24 hours.

Anne Bustos, a volunteer with Helping Hands of Georgetown, said every town has residents who are homeless and hungry and "it's our responsibility to try to address that."

Her group hands out free lunches every Monday through Thursday in the parking lot outside the library. Now, it will have to stop.

"What bewilders me, or surprises me, is homeless people do sort of come out of the woodwork. They know it's 3 o'clock, it's time to come and eat, and once they get their sandwiches ... they're gone," she said. "So we're only there six hours on that public property a week, handing out food and truly feeding truly homeless people who are our neighbors."

Bustos said her group is trying to find a new place to hand out lunches.

"Instead of dismantling Helping Hands, Georgetown should be working alongside Helping Hands to make all Georgetown residents have purpose," she said.

The concrete truck driver charged in the deadly Hays CISD school bus crash last year has pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges, the Bastrop County District Clerk's office confirmed.

Jerry Hernandez, 44, entered a plea deal on Monday. He was charged with two counts of manslaughter and two counts of criminally negligent homicide following the crash. He pleaded guilty on both counts of manslaughter. The state dismissed the other charges. He faces up to 18 years in prison.

Hernandez's attorney refused to comment on the plea deal. District Attorney Bryan Goertz did not return requests for comment by deadline.

Hernandez was driving a concrete truck on State Highway 21 in Bastrop County when he veered into the other lane, hitting the front of the bus and forcing it to roll over. The bus was carrying 44 pre-K students from Tom Green Elementary School and 11 adult chaperones back from a field trip.

Five-year-old Ulises Rodriguez Montoya, a student on the bus, and Ryan Wallace, who was in a car behind it, were killed. Several other people were injured.

According to an arrest affidavit, Hernandez admitted to DPS investigators that he had smoked marijuana the night before the crash, gotten only three hours of sleep and had used cocaine before going to work. Court documents showed he had three prior instances of testing positive for illegal drug use and was being treated by a substance abuse professional.

The truck company, FJM Concrete, and Hernandez face multiple lawsuits connected to the crash.

Tim Savoy, a spokesperson for the district, said the plea deal is one step in the process.

“We know nothing can make people fully whole from this tragedy,� he said. “But our hope is that having a plea deal will bring a semblance of justice for folks.�

He said the district is doing everything possible to ensure students are safe while riding school buses. The bus involved in the crash did not have seat belts because it was an older model. Since the the crash, the district has worked to install and retrofit its buses.

Savoy said nearly all of the district's buses now have seat belts.

A judge is set to formally sentence Hernandez on Sept. 18.

A AGÕæÈË°Ù¼ÒÀÖ County district judge has ruled that a $440 million road bond package approved by Hays County voters in November is now void.

The Monday ruling from Judge Catherine Mauzy said the Hays County Commissioners Court violated the Texas Open Meetings Act's public notice requirement.

The Hays County Commissioners Court, the governing body of the county, in August 2024 that would pay for building and maintaining roads throughout the fast-growing region. The bond, under Proposition A, included 31 road projects intended to help ease traffic congestion and improve safety, with a focus on roads connecting to I-35.

By state law, government entities like county officials are required to keep official business accessible to the public and to allow public comment. A group of Hays County residents said that did not happen. Last fall, the group sued county leaders over the bond.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Hays County District Court on Oct. 21, alleged county officials misled residents because the bond was placed on a scheduled meeting agenda at the last minute, limiting the amount of time people could speak on the item. The plaintiffs also said residents didn’t receive enough information on how the bond would affect local property taxes.

Mauzy agreed with the plaintiffs.

“[B]ecause the Hays County special election for Proposition A road bonds on November 5, 2024 was never lawfully ordered by the Hays County Commissioners Court, the court declares the election void,� court documents state.

The bond had passed with 55.76% of the vote, according to Hays County election results.

Bobby Levinski, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case, said the county can choose to appeal the ruling. But he said the hope is that the county will go back and redo the bond with better public engagement. Some residents, including the plaintiffs, previously raised concerns that the construction would lead to water pollution.

“Really it was about trying to figure out a way to shift the thinking from just a $440 million road bond that included a bunch of new roads in environmentally sensitive areas,� he said. “And shifting that focus to: What roads do we need to take care of along the I-35 corridor? Especially those that could improve maintenance and safety without putting a bunch of new money into new roads that would expand development in an area that is environmentally harmful."

Les Carnes, one of the plaintiffs in the case, said this is about more than the county breaking the law: “They have broken the confidence of the public.�

“We sued them for the right reasons because they were ignoring the environment,� Carnes said, adding that the county has to be held accountable. “This is a recurring problem, and we don’t need bad government thrown on top of it.�

The county can appeal. County Judge Ruben Becerra said the Commissioners Court won't decide on an appeal until after the final judgment has been rendered.

"I am not inclined to appeal and spend another hundred thousand dollars only to find us at the exact same point we are now," he said in a written statement. "While I respect the ruling issued I’m very disappointed, in the lack of transparency and public input we had on this bond issue."

Becerra said for now he is focused on finding the necessary resources "to address the most dire segments of our infrastructure and bring relief to so many of our residents who had faith in our ability to fund these vital road projects and improve our community."