🗞️ CivicIn7 Austin | Friday, November 7, 2025
⚡ Be the best-informed neighbor in Austin — in 7 minutes or less.
🧭 TL;DR
🏫 AISD delays rezoning & trims closure list — Palm, Bryker Woods & Maplewood spared; vote Nov 20 (✅ / ⚠️)
🗳️ Prop Q fails — City must rebalance ≈ $109.5 M gap at voter-approval rate (✅ / ⚠️)
🚉 CapMetro advances mobility projects — Uptown Station construction begins; Transit Plan 2035 approved (✅ / ⚠️)
⚡ ERCOT load surge = 266 % increase to ≈ 205 GW (✅ / ⚠️)
🏛️ Deadline Today: Apply for Travis County Civil Service Commission (✅)
🏫 Lead Story (High Priority)
AISD scales back closures & delays rezoning
Austin ISD removed Palm, Bryker Woods, and Maplewood from its closure list and delayed attendance-boundary changes after community pushback. Final recommendations post Nov 14, with a board vote Nov 20. Ten schools remain on the closure list as the district works to close a $19.7 M budget deficit. (✅ AISD hub & budget page; ⚠️ KUT / Statesman)
Key Data Points
Schools spared — Palm, Bryker Woods, Maplewood (⚠️)
Closures remaining — 10 schools (⚠️)
Board vote — Nov 20 (✅)
Budget deficit — $19.7 M (✅ AISD budget page)
Direct Austin Impact: Spared campuses avoid displacement; others still face program moves and longer commutes.
Civic Engagement: AISD Consolidation Hub | Comment Card 2 (open through Nov 19) | Board Agenda (TBA)
Verification Needed: [VERIFY] final agenda packet posting.
🚦 Rundown (Medium Priority)
Prop Q defeated — City reverts to voter-approval rate
Voters rejected Proposition Q, which would have set the FY 25–26 rate at $0.574017 per $100, ≈ $0.05 above the voter-approval rate ($0.524017). Unofficial totals: 63 % No / 37 % Yes. Without approval, the City operates within its current budget and 3.5 % cap. (✅ City Finance; ⚠️ KUT)
Key Data Points
Proposed rate — $0.574017 (✅)
Voter-approval rate — ≈ $0.524017 (✅)
Unofficial margin — 63 / 37 (⚠️)
Revenue gap — ≈ $109.5 M (✅)
Direct Austin Impact: ≈ $110 M less for City services; special budget session expected.
Civic Engagement: City Clerk portal | Legistar meetings
Verification Needed: [VERIFY] official canvass results from Travis, Williamson, and Hays Counties.
CapMetro Transit Plan 2035 approved & Uptown Station construction begins
CapMetro’s board approved Transit Plan 2035 on Oct 20, consolidating routes (61 → 55) and boosting frequency starting in 2026. Meanwhile, construction begins this month on the North Burnet / Uptown Station (formerly Broadmoor). (✅ CapMetro plan & project pages; ⚠️ media)
Key Data Points
Transit Plan 2035 adoption — Oct 20 (✅)
Station construction start — Nov 2025 (✅)
Opening target — early 2027 (⚠️)
CapMetro share — ≈ $37.3 M of ≈ $49.3 M (⚠️)
Direct Austin Impact: New rail hub for Domain/North Austin; shorter bus waits starting 2026.
Civic Engagement: Transit Plan 2035 hub | Board agenda calendar
ERCOT large-load requests jump ≈ 266 %
PUCT filings show ≈ 205 GW of large-load interconnection requests in 2025, up from ≈ 56 GW in 2024 — a 266 % increase driven ≈ 70 % by data centers. (✅ PUCT Interchange; ⚠️ Texas Tribune)
Key Data Points
Large-load queue — ≈ 205 GW (✅)
Prior baseline — ≈ 56 GW (✅)
Year-over-year increase — 266 % (✅)
Data center share — ≈ 70 % (⚠️)
Direct Austin Impact: Expect transmission upgrades and rate pressure for Austin Energy and PEC customers.
Civic Engagement: PUCT agendas | ERCOT newsroom
Deadline Today — Travis County Civil Service Commission Applications
Apply by Fri, Nov 7 (5 PM) for a three-year term on the Civil Service Commission for Sheriff’s Office Employees. (✅ County portal)
Engage: Application Packet →
🗞️ Brief Mentions (Low Priority)
Lawsuit filed over Travis County’s “disaster” tax rate — challenges the 8 % allowance (37.5845¢ per $100). (⚠️ Statesman)
Central Health FY26 budget — Removed (this item is > 30 days old and outside the current window).
🎟️ Happening Near You
📚 Texas Book Festival — Nov 8–9 | Downtown Austin (✅)
🎨 Blue Genie Art Bazaar — Nov 14–Dec 24 | 6100 Airport Blvd (✅)
✨ Trail of Lights — Dec 10–23 | Zilker Park (✅)
🗣️ How to Engage Right Now
✏️ AISD Comment Card 2 (open thru Nov 19) — share feedback before the Nov 20 vote. (✅ AISD)
🚆 CapMetro input: review Transit Plan 2035 changes & submit comments. (✅ CapMetro)
⚡ PUCT open meetings: monitor grid design items & transmission rules. (✅ PUCT)
🏛️ Apply today: Travis County Civil Service Commission (Deadline Nov 7). (✅ County)
📆 Civic Calendar (Forward Look)
Mon Nov 17 | 12 PM | CapMetro Board — Regular Meeting — Legistar (✅)
Thu Nov 20 | 5:30 PM | AISD Board — Consolidation Vote — Agenda (⚠️ TBA)
📊 By the Numbers
$109.5 M — Prop Q revenue City would have collected (✅ City Finance)
266 % — Increase in ERCOT large-load requests (✅ PUCT filing)
3 — Schools removed from AISD closure list (Palm, Bryker Woods, Maplewood) (⚠️ KUT)
