A.I.S.D.'s $700 million budget is official, and was approved by the board last night. Big picture? No schools will close, and this year's earlier $100 million budget shortfall was closed (KUT reports the shortfall was closer to $35 million, but who's counting?). Though thousands of district teachers are still left holding a pink slip, there's a new tussle in the budget ring: historic tax exemptions. The exemptions give significant tax breaks to owners of historic buildings, and though the program was suspended earlier this year, it was reinstated for another year last night. The program's opponents claim the system is being abused, and that the school district has no business subsidizing so-called 'wealthy homeowners'. more ›

As the Wall Street Journal reports, Texas Republicans and Democrats are "dueling" over $830 million in education funding currently sitting at the federal Department of Education. more ›

• Spark from shooting range ignites massive wildfire in Utah
• Five months later, blown-out BP oil well in Gulf is officially dead
• Religious group found safe after 22-hour search in California

Since the 1998-1999 school year, Austin-basedAnthropos has teamed up with low-income Austin schools to provide alternative educational experiences for kids. Professional musicians from the area act as instructors and mentors for the at-risk youth, providing them with a creative outlet while utilizing cultural diversity through music to help express themselves in ways never before imagined. more ›

Vandals are smashing SUV rear windows around town and not stealing anything. Austin Energy's fuel charge goes up in January. Trinity U. school officials discover multiple firearms in a student's dorm room after the student checks out for winter break. more ›

Eanes was concerned because the teacher had led their physics program to be one of the best in the nation and had quit less than 45 days before the start of the school year. Therefore, they refused to accept his resignation and filed a complaint with the state. Yesterday, however, Eanes school district superintendent Nola Wellman announced that if Harper turns in his resignation again (by the end of this week), she will recommend that it be accepted and the complaint to the state be dropped. more ›

Photo by Merrick Brown on flickr City charter revision committee wants your input on single-member districts. Executive director of CAMPO resigns effective January 15. Man attacks cop with screwdriver after the policeman catches him breaking into cars at the Highland Mall parking lot. A Hutto man is the first to be treated under Jessica's Law, legislation which deals harshly with child predators. Two adolescent boys (aged 11 and 14) have been charged with attempting to... more ›

Comic from ToothPasteForDinner.com State science curriculum director Chris Comer says she was forced to resign today according to the Austin-American Statesman. She walked away from her nine-year career with the Texas Education Agency amid accusations of insubordination and misconduct, both of which appear to be connected with her apparent bias against the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution. The senior adviser on statewide initiatives, Lizzette Reynolds, who previously served... more ›

Photo by *clairity* on flickrA public hearing is scheduled for tonight to discuss a proposed city-wide ban on panhandling. The ban would outlaw panhandling on roadsides and within 1,000 feet of all schools. The current solicitation ordinance prohibits panhandling in three zones of downtown, including the area around the University of Texas, a section of North Austin near the 51st Street day-laborer site and the Second Street District down to Lady Bird Lake. APD reported... more ›

Photo by fotocitizen on flickr Ann Richards' gravesite doesn't have a permanent marker yet. Classical guitar a popular subject in Austin schools. Gas line broken this morning in South Austin has been capped. Local man crushed by a dump truck Saturday evening. Aggie news: Mike Sherman to be new A&M football coach. Mother and stepfather of "Baby Grace" arrested; the case is still being investigated. Mississippi GOP senator Trent Lott is resigning . . .... more ›

Photo by punchup on flickr East Austin halfway/"sober" house to close after neighbors complained. Mother and child hit by truck in Georgetown HEB parking lot. Double B Foods recalling 98,000 pounds worth of sausage roll products for listeria contamination. After a fight at Taylor High School, the police tasered a girl, arresting her and two other students. 109,263 mistakes in the math textbooks proposed to be used for the 2008 school year at Texas elementary... more ›

Before dawn this morning, someone broke into McBride's Guns on San Gabriel, and they are thought to still be there, surrounded by ammunition and weapons. Schools in the area have been put on lockdown, and a SWAT team has surrounded the store. It seems to be unknown whether there is someone still actually there in the store, but the security company contracted by McBride's detected movement earlier this morning. Streets in the area (Lamar between... more ›

Four suspects have been arrested for the Wachovia Bank robbery yesterday. Probable murder-suicide in San Marcos; the couple was found by their teenage daughter last night. Student group at Texas State wants the right to carry guns around campus and to classes. This evening KEYE becomes the first Austin TV station to show local news in hi-def. It will still look the same on our old-school TV. Johns Hopkins calls Johnston High School (and... more ›

The University of Texas received a grade of B-minus on The College Sustainability Report Card, published Wednesday by the Sustainable Endowments Institute. According to the institute, the report card is the only independent sustainability assessment of campus operations and endowment investments. It grades universities with the 200 largest endowments in the areas of administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities and shareholder engagement. “The overall grade... more ›

#17 Texas (6-2) vs. Nebraska (4-4) Time: 2:30 pm, Saturday, Oct. 27 Location: Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium TV: ABC Radio: KVET (98.1 FM, 1300 AM) The Texas-Nebraska game on Saturday highlights the clash of history and reality. Historically, both are among the premier programs in college football, and the numbers prove it. The schools have combined for more than 1,600 victories, nine national championships, 90 bowl appearances, and five Heisman Trophy winners. But in... more ›

Last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas (BBBS-CT) provided over 82,000 hours of mentoring to 1,588 children in Travis, Williamson, McLennan and Brazos counties. This year, they've teamed up with the Neighborhood Longhorns Program (NLP), and are currently recruiting and pairing UT students with children at AISD elementary schools for a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Volunteers are needed to provide educational and social support through mentoring and tutoring for kids ranging from 6 to... more ›

Britain creates new drug to combat obesity...dog obesity. Dear Abby supports gay marriage. A London judge has found nine lies in Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, orders disclaimer to air before being played in schools. The Empire State Building will glow green for the end of Ramadan this year. In China, there is a 95-year old woman growing a horn out of her forehead. Houston ISD is thinking of charging students (and their parents)... more ›

Math teacher at Bowie high school wins a national education award worth $25,000. Last night, the Planning Commission voted against proposals made by CWS to develop land so close to Lady Bird Lake. TxDOT used cameras hidden in orange barrels to collect license plate data for a transportation study. Staph infections making the rounds at Austin high schools; 10 Anderson football players have been affected in recent weeks. As if we needed another reason... more ›

Austin couple wants neighbors to know that they are not sex offenders. Large community turnout last night for forum on the future of Johnston High. The ER at Dell Children's hospital is already overwhelmed. Horses are allowed to stop at state-owned livestock pens at the border on their way to Mexico to be slaughtered. In other border news: Mayors of some Texas border towns are trying to stave off the border fence by not... more ›

The University of Texas raised $26 million in athletic donations in 2006, putting it 16th among all U.S. universities. A study by The Chronicle of Higher Education found that money for athletics accounts for more than one-quarter of all contributions to some universities. The Chronicle survey reported that the country's largest athletic departments and booster clubs raised more than $1.2 billion in 2006 and 2007. The University of Texas wasn't the top athletic fund-raiser in... more ›

Drippings Springs Baptist Church has been on fire since 3:30 this afternoon . . . and 290 (in Dripping Springs) is closed because of it. Inmate dies in Travis County jail. Perry and Dewhurst visit local schools to celebrate the signing of the 'defibrillators in schools' bill. Texas Historical Commission pays $490,000 for Davy Crockett's last letter. Animal control finds 41 dogs in a Round Rock home. Man saved from rising water in Leander early... more ›

[This review comes from new contributor Anna Hanks! -Ed.] In our culture, children are usually considered innocent until sullied by the grown-up world. Otherwise, why would we have family-friendly TV programming, G-rated movies, and continual furor about “inappropriate” books being taught in public schools? Noah Haidle’s dark little comedy, Mr. Marmalade, brilliantly twists the preconception of childhood innocence into an inspired script. We attended the final weekend of this just-closed, Capital T Theatre production at... more ›

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked... more ›

Looks like Round Rock ISD is headed to court over their policies on organized prayers at school events. Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, representing six students and one former student, have filed suit against the district, saying that its policy of allowing school-sponsored prayer at graduation ceremonies violates the First Amendment principle of church-state separation. Every year, each of the four Round Rock high schools (Round Rock, Stony Point, McNeil... more ›

In the latest issue of Newsweek, "admission officials, educational consultants, students, parents and college and university leaders" were questioned to find the best American colleges in specific fields. The Top 25 Listing included topics such as Hottest Sports Fans (Florida), Hottest in the War on Terror (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) and Hottest for Loving the Outdoors (St. Mary's College of Maryland). Individual achievements by various UT professors and the efforts of Teach... more ›

UT Austin dropped from its much-heralded top spot in this year's rankings of the country's Best Party Schools, published in The Princeton Review's annual "Best Colleges" survey. Based on input from over 120,000 students across the nation, the rankings are a decent barometer of general public opinion among the notoriously fickle college set. Students were asked to rate universities based on "use of alcohol and drugs, hours of study each day, and the popularity... more ›

If there is one thing that we love, it’s a good party. There are stipulations of course: there needs to be great people, great food, great drinks, great entertainment and of course, the crowning factor, we must have had absolutely nothing to do with organizing it. Thankfully, we can always count on the Austin Film Festival to do the heavy lifting for us and on Wednesday, October 10th, they are serving up just what we... more ›

Newsweek ranks UT Austin as "Hottest for Saving America's Schools" A woman dies while tubing on the Blanco River Sunday night Keith Williams, 33, and Charkora Gentry, 31, attempt to steal brisket from an H-E-B, end up kicking a store employee in the back The good news: Karl Rove is resigning. The bad news: he's moving back to Texas. Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Central Texas are searching for a few good male mentors Former... more ›

Between claiming that we need more highways no matter how we pay for them and promoting Smithville as an affordable alternative to living in Austin (commute to Austin, Houston or San Antonio!), it was easy to miss the Statesman's publication of a new rant by developer Ed Wendler, Jr., in which Wendler points out that downtown condos are expensive and says that "Austin should abandon the idea that it is encouraging downtown living to... more ›

Teachers working in impoverished schools get paid less and are less experienced than teachers in more affluent schools, making it harder for them to help students. Vicious cycle. Maybe they can save money by going green? Have you stocked up on mega-mushroom face serum yet? No? Then you are so not ready for summer. KJI was totally ornery after almost 5 years without a U.S. visit. Hopefully Hill can console him. And take away... more ›