Austin Signal

The Austin Independent School District has regained control of its special education program. The Texas Education Agency assigned a pair of monitors to the program for the last three years as AISD worked to address a backlog of evaluations. We’ll have the latest from Austin’s school district.

A San Marcos City Council meeting went into the early morning hours today as council members decided on rezoning property to be sold for a data center. Hundreds of folks showed up to make their opinions known. Most were against the idea, others say these data centers are inevitable. We’ll have more from that meeting.

Plus, The VORTEX theater hosted Butch Prom over the weekend.

And, we’re going to hear The Hole Story from our friends over at KUTX.

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The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

Jerry Quijano [00:00:08] The Austin Independent School District has regained control of its special education program. The Texas Education Agency has signed a pair of monitors to the program for the last three years as AISD worked to address a backlog of evaluations. The latest from Austin’s school district and a San Marcos City Council meeting went into the early morning hours today as council members decided on rezoning property to be sold for a data center. Hundreds of folks showed up to make their opinions known. Most were against the idea. Others say these sensors are inevitable. We’ll have more from that meeting coming up on today’s show.

KUT Announcer: Laurie Gallardo [00:00:42] The Austin Signal is a production of KUT News, hosted by Jerry Quijano.

Jerry Quijano [00:00:48] Plus, we’re going to hear the whole story from our friends over at KUTX, today’s storyteller. Well, you’ll just have to keep it tuned in here, because Austin’s Signal is coming up next. Howdy out there, thank you for tuning in. This is Austin Signal coming to you from listener-powered public radio KUT News. It is a Wednesday, the 18th day of February. I’m your host, Jerry Kehannel. Thanks for making us part of your day. The Austin Independent School District can once again run its own special education services. After three years of state oversight, two monitors appointed to oversee AISD’s special education program were removed this week. For more about this story, we’re chatting with KUT’s education reporter Greta Diaz Gonzalez-Vazquez. Greta, thank you for being on Austin Signal.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:01:47] Hey Jerry!

Jerry Quijano [00:01:48] So first off, remind us, since it’s been three years, why did the Texas Education Agency assign two monitors to AISD’s special education program in the first place?

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:01:57] Yeah, so we have to go back to 2021, actually. Back then, the Texas Education Agency launched an investigation into AISD special education services because there were allegations that the district was not complying with state and federal law. AISd has, or any ISD for that matter, they have 45 school days to carry out evaluations to determine if a student has a disability or not. That’s 45 schooldays after parents have signed consent forms. These evaluations allow parents and the district to know if the student has a disability and if so, what special education or what special services they need. So the investigation determined that the district was not complying with those deadlines given by the state. So the district had two options. One was going under state oversight, which means having two monitors appointed by the State that will supervise the services. Potentially allowing the state to take over the services overall with a board appointed by the TA or by the state. Okay. And so they chose the first one and I have to say there was a backlog of applications back then.

Jerry Quijano [00:03:06] Yeah, I know our education reporters have been reporting on this backlog for a few years as you mentioned 2021 I feel like it goes back maybe around then maybe a little bit before then Speaking of that backlog has that been addressed entirely?

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:03:20] Yeah, so Segura said Tuesday that it had been addressed when the monitors were put into place in 2023, AISD had a backlog of 600 evaluations. And in February of 2024, the district said they had completed over 1000 evaluations for the 2022-2023 school year, but they still had application spending for the next school year. Cause you know, if you have a backlog, they just like, it keeps back-logging, that’s right. So on Tuesday, Superintendent Matias Segura said that there was no backlog and that over the last three years the district had completed 10,000 applications.

Jerry Quijano [00:03:56] Oh wow, that’s a pretty big number, and I know that hand in hand with this backlog was the fact that there were a lot of vacancies in the special education program for AISD. Do we have an update on where those numbers are?

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:04:09] Yeah, so yesterday Segura mentioned that at some point they had 70 vacancies. And so they really had to invest. They had to increase salaries to make sure they had enough personnel to stabilize the services. And they said they increased the team by more than 250 specialized providers and evaluators, people who can carry out these evaluations. And they also mentioned that staff went through 120,000 hours of training to be able to deliver the same services across all campuses in the district. And they mentioned that they are fully staffed at the moment.

Jerry Quijano [00:04:41] Okay, what else does the district have to say after this was announced yesterday?

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:04:45] So the district was thrilled. They said that it entailed working with campuses across the district because 74% of special education students are in general education classrooms. So you can imagine that meant working with teachers across the District. They said they wanted to make sure students had access to the same services across the districts and that’s a lot of training. Also, Matias Segura said that this showed that the TEA was acknowledging that the District was moving forward.

Andrew Weber [00:05:14] I do believe that the agency understands that here in Austin ISD, we are moving the work. Students are growing and we’ve been able to do things that haven’t been done before and I think that’s appreciated.

Jerry Quijano [00:05:24] Okay, that was AISD Superintendent Matias Segura, and we have been speaking with Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez. She is KUT’s education reporter. We’re gonna have a link to this story in today’s podcast, Show Notes. Greta, thank you for coming on the show.

Greta Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez [00:05:38] Thank you, Jerry.

Jerry Quijano [00:05:43] Last night’s city council meeting in San Marcos ended sounding something like this.

council meeting attendee [00:05:49] Excuse me.

Jerry Quijano [00:05:54] City Council was considering whether to rezone a property from single home to commercial, making it available for sale to data centers for more about what happened. We’re speaking with Lee Walden, KUT’s Hayes County reporter who was at last night’s meeting. Lee, we know you had a late night, early morning. Thanks for being on Austin Signal.

Leigh Walden [00:06:13] Thanks for having me!

Jerry Quijano [00:06:14] So this was a late meeting. It went until later than 2 a.m. Last night. But first, remind us, what was this rezoning proposition that the city council was considering?

Leigh Walden [00:06:23] Yeah, they were considering changing about a 200 acre plot of land from single family home residential housing to commercial use that would be sold to this data center.

Jerry Quijano [00:06:36] Okay, so paint a picture for those of us who weren’t there. What was the environment like?

Leigh Walden [00:06:41] Yeah, it was busy. Folks started coming out to San Marcos City Hall around 3 p.m. They were, you know, in front of the, they were on the lawn of the City Hall and in the overflow room outside of the council chambers and packed into the council room as well. There were people playing on drums, there were people actively playing music, there was a potluck. It was… Celebratory in terms of the community coming together in support of the environment and the life that they have in San Marcos. And yeah, a lot of really fierce voices against this development and against the data center.

Jerry Quijano [00:07:18] So what were some of the messages that they had to share with the city council?

Leigh Walden [00:07:23] Yeah. One of the big messages of the night was about water. We kept hearing about how impactful the river was to the people in San Marcos and the surrounding region, because of course it’s all connected. They were speaking a lot about how it’s not just an environmental issue, it’s a social issue, and it’s cultural because it’s so important to have this waterway within town. Just on Monday, there was a proposition by the Hayes County judge to postpone or to put a moratorium on building permits for high water usage sites. So this is a really relevant issue and going into potentially stage four restrictions, I think water is on top of for a lot of people in the region.

Jerry Quijano [00:08:08] Absolutely, we know that water is always a top issue for people in Hayes County and across Central Texas here in Austin as well. So it sounds like there was a lot of support against rezoning this property. Was there any support for moving ahead with the at the cell for a data center?

Leigh Walden [00:08:26] Yeah, there were some folks out there definitely excited about the potential of the development and what it could mean for the community. In particular, there are a lot of people from a construction union in support of the kind of jobs that this development would bring and the opportunities that it would bring to workers from the region who would be able to be the construction force for the center.

Jerry Quijano [00:08:48] Okay, and you spoke to somebody who was in support of moving forward with the rezoning?

Leigh Walden [00:08:54] Yeah, I spoke to Matt Gonzalez, who is the president of the 1095 chapter, and he gave me some context to what this construction project could mean for

Matt Gonzalez [00:09:08] We’re here in support of the data center simply for the fact because it provides an opportunity to put construction members or construction workers on a pathway to a true career. So we have existing members that we obviously advocate for, but a project like this we’ve already been on the record in previous council meetings that we’re committed to recruit from this community for any future positions and that’s what we’re commited to.

Jerry Quijano [00:09:34] So ultimately, what did the Sonomatical City Council decide?

Leigh Walden [00:09:38] Yeah, ultimately in a 5-2 vote, they decided to deny the request for rezoning. One of the situations where a yes vote means no. Um, and that means that this, um, filing to allow for the rezoning and hence the construction for the data center won’t go through, but they can refile again in six months. And I don’t think that this is going to be even the last data center. I think there’s going to be more in the region just like we’ve seen throughout central Texas.

Jerry Quijano [00:10:10] Okay, that is Lee Walden. She is KUT’s Hayes County reporter. We’re gonna have a link to her story in today’s show notes and at kut.org slash signal Lee. Thank you. And it is day two of early voting here in Texas. In Travis County on day one, there were more than 10,000 in-person ballots cast and mail-in ballots received. That’s about 1.2% of the more than 920,000 registered voters here in Travis County. A first day turnout was a little higher in Williamson County, about 1,4%. Party primary elections tend to track the more active and involved voters. Don’t worry, early voting though goes until February 27th. We have voter guides at KUT.org. Austin Signal will be back after a break. Welcome back, this is Austin Signal. The Vortex Theater in East Austin hosted three sold-out shows over the weekend that combined improv, drag kings, and a dating competition for Valentine’s Day. The event was meant to celebrate masculinity in the queer community. Ella Copaykin has this story of joy and being seen.

Ella Kopeikin [00:11:27] Valentine’s weekend at the Vortex in East Austin was more than the usual of chocolates and flowers. The audience filing into the small black box was lively, rocking dyed hair of various colors, leather jackets and vibrant patterned outfits. A cheetah print couch and bubblegum pink chairs were placed on stage. From Friday to Sunday, the theater became the home of Butch Prom. The self-described event series celebrates lesbian, queer, and trans masculinity. Lee Farmer came Saturday on a date with his partner.

Lee Farmer [00:11:58] We’ve gone to queer events from a few different groups and we’ve never really found like our home base, I guess. So I was really excited to find a place that was like queer masked.

Ella Kopeikin [00:12:09] Each butch prom is a little different. The first one last summer was a prom with a wrestling twist, for Halloween it was a monster ball, and for Valentine’s weekend, the organizers decided to put on a theater production, a staged game show called Mask for Match. This is founder and co-producer Sophia Rumbarger.

Sophia Rumbarger [00:12:27] You’ve ever seen The Dating Game where they set up a wall and there’s a contestant and then there are three eligible bachelors basically. We’re doing that but as a drag show theater play.

Ella Kopeikin [00:12:39] While the theme for each event changes, the central focus is designing a safe and fun environment for people who present themselves in a masculine way.

Sophia Rumbarger [00:12:47] It’s not about being exclusive, it’s specifically about creating space for something that may otherwise not be highlighted. Butch lesbians, people who identify as transmasculine, trans men, studs, boys, we’re saying this party is for you and it’s about you.

Ella Kopeikin [00:13:03] Rumburger came up with the event. She never saw the idea growing beyond her own backyard, though. Then she ended up at the Texas Renaissance Festival with a friend of a friend, Olivia Amy.

Sophia Rumbarger [00:13:14] And i remember her saying something that changed my perspective entirely about how it was like you don’t have to do that at your house you can do that at a bar

Ella Kopeikin [00:13:24] Amy had wanted something to produce from the ground up that focused more on the on the queer community. Here’s Amy:

Olivia Amy [00:13:28] . I wanted to throw as many events that centered queer joy as possible and also wanted to do like a wrestlemania type event where it was like masculinity but safe for queer people.

Ella Kopeikin [00:13:43] They began to meet regularly to outline their kickoff event.

Sophia Rumbarger [00:13:44] We started developing this idea of like, we’ll do fun stuff. We’ll shotgun beers. We can do mud wrestling. We’ll shave each other’s heads. We’ll give each other buzz cuts.

Ella Kopeikin [00:13:51] They also wanted the event to showcase queer artists and vendors, and to promote community culture.

Olivia Amy [00:13:55] We definitely have like our values matrix and how we decide who is involved.

Ella Kopeikin [00:14:02] First posted to Instagram in June 2025 and quickly gained traction. The wrestling prom sold out. The night’s emcee was Bobby Pudrito, a celebrated local artist and drag king.

Bobby Pudrito [00:14:12] I started drag at around the same time. Things started getting really intense with legislation, anti-trans, anti-queer bills. And I had a lot to say. This event seemed even more aligned than any other events I’ve done before, so it was an easy yes.

Ella Kopeikin [00:14:28] Pedrito also hosted the Halloween Monster Ball, which proved equally successful. After that, the organizers wanted their next event to be totally different. Instead of throwing a party featuring performances, they decided to put on a performance that

Olivia Amy [00:14:40] would feel like a party. I felt like we want to hear what folks are saying. So a theater experience might be best. And then the Vortex offered us the three day run. Rumburger.

Ella Kopeikin [00:14:51] Imagine a twist on a challenge from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Drag queens impersonate celebrities in a parody of the game show Match Game.

Sophia Rumbarger [00:14:57] I think that drag performers do celebrity impersonation probably better than anyone else. I kept thinking to myself, man, there are so many male celebrities, why aren’t drag kings doing this more often?

Ella Kopeikin [00:15:08] The team came up with Mask for Match, a play combining improv, drag kings, and a dating element for Valentine’s Day. There would be three butchlers and one butchler.

Olivia Amy [00:15:17] So it will be a theater show. There will be drag performances while also being a dating show. So we’ll have drag kings being celebrities. All three nights of Masked for Match sold out.

Event Announcer [00:15:29] Welcome to the Vortex! You’re here, you made it, and let’s get ready for Mask for Max!

Ella Kopeikin [00:15:39] Drag king travis randy travis played butchler number two kermit the frog

Travis Randy [00:15:43] This specific time of wanting to show queer identities and also my own queer identity feels so important for me and for us to be on this stage and to be that comfortable and to share that with an audience too.

Ella Kopeikin [00:15:59] We exist. We’re here. Audience members were just excited to watch the show as the performers were to be in it. I caught Ali Lee after the Saturday performance.

Ali Lee [00:16:08] Just kind of like one portrayed way to present masculinity and they kind of like opened it up to everything and that’s what it’s about like everything is dragon we’re all just floating around and trying to survive

Ella Kopeikin [00:16:21] The Butch Prom organizers want to continue expanding.

Olivia Amy [00:16:23] The size and scope of their events. I think we want to have an amazing prom this summer, so a lot of our focus after our Valentine’s Day event is going to be on making that prom as fantastic as possible.

Sophia Rumbarger [00:16:34] Let’s make this the best prom ever.

Ella Kopeikin [00:16:37] With queerness and transness being increasingly challenged by legislators, the team feels that events like theirs are only becoming more important. Here’s Boudry, though, again.

Bobby Pudrito [00:16:45] The entire premise of anti-queer legislation is for us to cower and for us hide. It is a priority to me for people to know that what I’m doing is pushback. We’re having the best time of our lives and that in itself is pushing back.

Ella Kopeikin [00:17:03] Because sometimes the greatest form of protest is just having fun. For KUT’s Artbeat, I’m Ella Kopaken in Austin.

Jerry Quijano [00:17:18] The Hole Story is a new series from our music station KUTX, taped live on the front stage of Hole in the Wall across the street from us right here. Artists are invited not just to perform, but to share the inspiration, meaning, or backstory behind their music. Today’s storyteller, Texan Hayes Carl.

Hayes Carl [00:17:39] People ask me all the time, you know, how do you write songs, is it the words or the music that comes first, and I don’t really know. I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s different things at different times. But this next song, I set a line, and immediately said I need to put that in a song, and the song’s called High. And it’s not about drugs, although I was on drugs when I said that line. But it’s more about just trying to, again, still the mind and find peace and be present. So, it goes like this.

Hayes Carl [00:18:23] I   am just the right amount of high floating between this moment and the sky Exactly at the height That I’d like to fly And I am just the right amount of height And I have chased a feeling all these years Blocked by insecurities and fears And oh, it feels so good, as that all disappears. And I have chased this feeling all these years. And now I am just the right amount of high Floating between this moment and the scan exactly at the height that I’d like to fly and I’m just the right amount of hight

Hayes Carl [00:20:53] Sometimes this old world scares me to death. It steals my joy until there’s nothing left covers up the light and knocks out all my breath. Sometimes this old world scares me to death. But right now, I am just the right amount of high. Floating between this moment and the sky Exactly at the height of that I like to fly And I am just the right amount of height The wind is at my back, and the world is on my side And I am just the right amount of high

Hayes Carl [00:22:13] Thank y’all.

Jerry Quijano [00:22:14] That was Hayes Carl performing on the front stage at the world famous Hole in the Wall. Across the way from where I’m sitting and talking to you right this second, there’s much more from that performance. You can find the whole story in today’s podcast, Show Notes, and over at kut.org slash signal. That’s it for today’s show. Thank you for including us as part of your Wednesday. Hope you’re having a nice one out there. Kristen Cabrera is our managing producer. Reyna Sevilla is our technical director. Thank you to QUT’s Greta Diaz, Gonzales-Vasquez, and Lee Walden for their updates. I’m your host, Jerry Quijano. We’ll be back with you tomorrow.

This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.