AISD joins Planning Commission

The Planning Commission had its first Austin Independent School District member join yesterday, when AISD trustee Jayme Mathias accompanied commissioners on the dais as an ex officio (non-voting) member. “This has been a long-awaited arrival,” said Chair Stephen Oliver. “We’ve been asking for a long time for the opportunity to collaborate more and have the input of AISD.” Mathias expressed gratitude for being included in the commission and explained that school board President Gina Hinojosa had asked him and Beth Wilson from the AISD Facilities Department to represent her. “We’ll look forward to joining you on a regular basis and having representation for our district, which represents 84,000 students and 12,000 employees on 130 campuses throughout this city.” The Planning Commission has three ex officio positions: the Board of Adjustment chair, the director of the Public Works Department and a representative from AISD. Up until very recently, the AISD position was for the president of the AISD board of trustees, but that restriction was relaxed to encourage participation from the school district.