So, if a person makes a suggestion that is implemented and proves to generate money for the district or reduce costs beyond some threshold, then that person is paid. You could even have tiers of awards such that if the idea is outstanding enough the person receives a series of payments, maybe once a year. For example, if your idea is “gold level” then you get 1% of the revenues/savings or $5,000 (whichever is lowest) for 5 years, or if it is “platinum level” it’s 1% of the revenues/savings or $2,500 (whichever is lowest) for 3 years, or if just accepted it’s 1% of the revenues/savings or $1,000 (whichever is lowest) one time. You get the idea.

To advertise such a program simply place it on the back of all the school buses and maybe a few commercials a year.

I propose a program entitled, “The Leadership and Career Building (LACB) Program.” Excelling seniors can volunteer for a half-day schedule of their remaining core classes, college credit classes, and/or a resume and college prep workshop – and the rest of their day is spent volunteering time at the elementary, middle, and lower high school grades as teacher aids, office administration, tutors, and other positions that will be vacant with the upcoming cutbacks. There will still be layoffs with this plan, but at least all the schools can remain open.

The classes can be increased to 60 students, divided into two adjacent rooms, with three volunteer student aids and one teacher over both rooms. The teacher would stager 20 minute lectures of the material between the two rooms, with the student aids overseeing independent and group work between lectures. The students in this type of classroom setting would benefit from a 15 to 1 student to “teacher” ratio and will have a mentor relationship with the student aids. The seniors will also benefit from this program by learning leadership skills, practice public speaking, and would be able to add their volunteer time to their resumes and college applications, with recommendation letters from the teachers they worked with.

If this was successful, AISD could even consider handling “smaller” events (UT games are 100,000 people) for UT or even city wide events by using the Tony Burger center for parking and their buses for shuttling. South By Southwest and Austin City Limits Festivals might also have transportation needs that AISD could contract for.

Most of these types of events are on non AISD work days.

Use AISD’s human resources to conduct camps in drama, writing, science, music, various sports, just about anything. One of the great things about Austin is there is an endless supply of talent. Use it! A lot of these potential instructors could probably use extra money in the summer and over spring break. It may take a few years to get on a roll, but AISD has 3 of the most important things possible for this exact business- locations (and locations and locations), facilities, and people with the skills to lead camps. Cheap ones these days are $200 a week. It’s a booming business.

In other words, impact fees help new growth better pay for itself.  Thus, those who are responsible for creating the new growth & the resulting need for new school infrastructure would have to pay their fair share upfront rather than the rest of the city having to pay for it later.  A formula could be defined to determine the size of the fees – For instance one where the fees would be proportional to the size of the development (e.g. # of new residences built) & impact created.  Even if a new school building isn’t necessary immediately, this would ensure that the funds are collected along the way as each development is built so that the funds are there when a new school does need to be built.

See: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/education/16naming.html