It’s Been a Long Year at the SAISD
It’s been a long year for the San Antonio ISD community
San Antonio remains one of the poorest cities in the United States and one of the least educated workforces, according to the United States Census Bureau. As the debate over public vs. private school vouchers continues to rage, San Antonio must focus more on the value of educating its population to improve our overall economic position.
The Alamo City’s namesake public school system, the San Antonio Independent School District, has had a challenging year.
SAISD “Right-sizing” initiative to close seventeen campuses for 2024-25
Faced with declining enrollment over the last twenty years, in September of 2023, Superintendent Jaime Aquino announced the district would close 15 campuses in 2024, locating those students to other districts. Mr. Aquino argued this “right-sizing plan” will allow the district to utilize existing resources more efficiently and improve service at the remaining campuses.
He cites compounding issues that led to the enrollment decline, including lower birth rates over the last decade, the lingering impacts of COVID-19, an increase in students attending a charter or private school, and an aging population in the urban core.
Understandably, school closures are never popular with constituents, and many in the affected attendance zones spoke out against Mr. Aquino’s plan. Still, being a strong leader means having the courage to make difficult decisions and tackle situations head-on that will ensure the organization’s longevity, or in this case, that of the public schools in the city’s urban core. Based on the challenges in the last few months, Mr. Aquino has shown no fear in charting his community’s path forward and responding to obstacles along the way.
Students impacted by the school closures will have the choice of a new school, which includes busing and access to enhanced programs. As of this writing, nearly 99% of students who applied for school choice were granted one of their top three choices. Per a San Antonio Report investigation, 77% of students indicated they would remain in SAISD rather than transfer to a charter or private school, homeschool, or move out of the district.
Heating system issues force district-wide school closures
In January, as the district was already working through the pains of right-sizing, the winter storm forced the closure of several district campuses due to a failure of the central heating system. While the closures were isolated at the onset, Superintendent Aquino eventually shuttered the entire district for days while they worked to solve the problem.
The closures resulted in the resignation of two district officials and a commitment to “do better” in the future.
The condition of the campuses further supports Aquino’s vision for permanently closing campuses. In a district already spread thin, shuttering and selling off some existing buildings will allow SAISD to utilize its resources to maintain and improve the campuses needing repairs.
Still, SAISD has seen a decrease in revenue due to a lower tax base in their attendance zone and decreasing funding from the state of Texas as their enrollment has declined. As SAISD works to recruit and retain the best teachers, it has leveraged Title 1 and other federal funding sources to offset some of the challenges posed by the lack of state funding.
This situation highlights the district’s operational vulnerabilities posed by aging infrastructure and lack of funding.
SAISD to cut over 200 staff positions
Those who followed the school voucher debate this last legislative session will note that the fight ended in a stalemate regarding earning vouchers. While the governor built the largest coalition of pro-voucher support in history, the house voted at the last minute to drop the provision. As a result, the governor would not sign any additional school legislation, including additional funding for districts state-wide.
For many districts that are already facing a shortfall because of inflation and the end of the COVID-19 ESSER (Elementary and Secondary school Emergency Relief) funding, losing out on additional funding from the state is crushing. While Texas sits on a $32 billion surplus, many public schools face cutting staff and instructors, including SAISD.
Mr. Aquino recently announced that due to the end of ESSER funds, SAISD would lay off eliminate 216 positions, including college-bound advisors, family engagement specialists, academic deans, special education positions, hall monitors, and other supplemental staff. The right-sizing process accomplishes some of this.
As you close schools, you need fewer custodians, bookkeepers, administrative assistants, maintenance staff, accountants, and cafeteria workers. Mr. Aquino did not say whether or not the cuts would eventually result in the termination of classroom teachers, but he did mention the lack of additional funding from the state could impact their positions as they work on their 2024-25 budget.
As SAISD continues to streamline operations, we hope it finds its footing under Superintendent Aquino’s leadership. Our ability to educate our population directly correlates to our workforce training and development, and economic viability. While San Antonio cannot tax and spend its way out of poverty, investing in an educated population can only help move us in the right direction.