November 6, 2009 - The Austin School District will hold the first of two community conversations to inform and engage citizens on issues that need to be addressed before the Board of Trustees can approve the 2010-2011 school year budget. The meeting will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, in the cafeteria of Anderson High School, located at 8403 Mesa Drive.

Superintendent Meria Carstarphen and Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley-Abram will present the budget basics, the budget parameters adopted by the Board of Trustees, and then citizens will have the chance to breakout into small groups to discuss their expectations and concerns related to the budget.  
 
The second community budget conversation will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, December 3, in the cafeteria of Travis High School, located at 1211 E. Oltorf Drive.  
 
A light dinner and translation services will be provided at both meetings.  
 
Citizens are encouraged to sign up for the meetings on-line by visiting the Citizen Budget Review Committee webpage at http://www.austinisd.org/inside/budget.  
 
For budget information call Nicole Conley-Abram, Chief Financial Officer, at 414-2323 or budget@austinisd.org.  
 
For information on the meetings, contact Beverly Reeves, District Ombudsman, at 414-9882 or at breeves@austinisd.org.