“Declining enrollment is a serious issue for the district,” Trustee Ted Gordon said. “Some of the aspects are beyond our ability to influence, including the lack of affordability in the city of Austin. But some are aspects we can influence. And the district must do a better job of combating the loss of students to charter schools, which are a threat to public education. ... And the district must make the schools on the east and north central side of town more attractive to families and students. We’ve been saying this for a while.” Read more here.

Ninety years after Austin’s first comprehensive plan designated a “negro district”—and fifty years after the first attempt to pass a local fair housing ordinance was overturned by popular referendum -- there are still sharp differences in the quality of life across neighborhoods. Read the commentary here.