Teachers at Austin Public Schools have been decorating walls, organizing classrooms and preparing lesson plans recently in anticipation of the big yellow buses pulling up that first day. Today, their work officially begins for the year.

All teachers start school today, although new staff and their mentors have been going through training and orientation the past couple weeks.

There are approximately 760 full and part-time staff in the district this year, and of those, 319.5 certified — full-time equivalent — staff.

Enrollment is up this year, with about 4,414 students as of Aug. 13.

“Kids continue to keep enrolling,” superintendent David Krenz said.

His first day with the district was July 1, so Krenz has had some time to acclimate himself with the schools and his staff. He is now living in Austin, and has attended Rotary, Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce events.

“I’m making sure I am involved,” he said. “If anyone wants to invite me to events, I am more than happy to participate.”

Krenz said he is continuing to “build confidence” with staff and administrators.

“I believe in building on people’s strengths,” he said.

Krenz, the former superintendent at La Crescent-Hokah, said he was drawn to Austin because of its community partnerships — the University of Minnesota and Hormel Foundation, for example — and its attention to English Language Learning students and programs.

Ninety staff are obtaining master’s degrees through a U of M fellowship program, and Krenz said the district will begin to see the results of that training this year.

“It is designed to meet the needs of the Austin schools,” he said. “The master’s side of it is the least side of it. It’s really based on content, and just as much, instructional practice.”

The continuing influx of money from the Hormel Foundation and other sources is a blessing considering many schools are dealing with budget cuts and layoffs, Krenz explained.

Austin’s biggest challenge, he said, is what he calls a “four-year hurdle” — the state legislature has frozen funding for this biennium, and may continue that freeze for the next two years as well.

“We know for the next two years we won’t be getting any new money,” Krenz said. “We reduced and found new revenue of well over $700,000 that we didn’t have to go to the taxpayer for,” he said. “We’re trying to keep that off their shoulders.”

Inflation, coupled with the funding freeze, means the district needs to find other sources of revenue. The district is asking voters for a levy operating referendum increase, which will be on the ballot Nov. 3.

The district has established a group of community members and administrators to get the word out about the referendum vote, and have created a presentation to give in the community, Krenz said.

The district is working to keep class sizes reasonable, despite the increasing enrollment that came as a result of Woodson Kindergarten opening several years ago as an all-day, everyday kindergarten.

Elementary schools will now be using former kindergarten rooms as additional classrooms.

“In a sense, it made the classrooms smaller,” Krenz said. The average size of the elementary classes this year is 24 to 27 students. Next summer, the district will start construction on Ellis Middle School’s renovation and expansion project, which will update its science facilities and add classrooms.

Krenz said he is optimistic about this year at Austin Public Schools.

“I think it’s off to a good start,” he said. “The number of new staff seem excited to be here. It doesn’t seem like school starts until the teachers get here.”