“AISD has been looking for ways to solve its enrollment and affordability issues for years, and the results speak for themselves. Teachers and students continue to leave the district in droves. Because of the state policy of Recapture, which sends millions of AISD’s budget outside the district each year, the district has little wiggle-room in its budget. Actually, one of the few levers it does have the ability to pull is the massive acreage it’s sitting on.”
“Money the district makes from selling off its land isn’t subject to Recapture. But that bonus would be a lot more compelling if the city wasn’t sitting on land that wasn’t tied up in restrictive zoning rules. Those rules make it more costly and time-intensive to develop, and that means either the city loses out on opportunities or those opportunities are more expensive when they do get approved. But even better than selling their properties would be leasing or partnering with organizations like Habitat For Humanity to build as much permanently affordable multi-family housing on their land as they can.”
“City Council could in one fell swoop make that land a bigger bargaining chip for the district. AISD currently has five buildings on 45 acres that it considers suitable for housing. It would be a tragic mistake if the city let a few dozen single family homes be built on that land instead of true community assets.” Thoughts?