In a press conference, SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino denied rumors that the number of schools slated for closure ranges from 20 to 50.
San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent Jaime Aquino talks about a proposed resolution during a school board meeting Tuesday night, which trustees later passed, that authorizes him and staff to begin a process to rightsize the district.The San Antonio Independent School District could be the next in the region to shutter schools with low enrollment in order to “rightsize” following years of declining enrollment and rising costs.
Aquino has also said he has was watching the emotional and fraught processes undertaken by the South San Antonio and Harlandale independent school districts, which voted to close schools in recent months, informing the district’s game plan. “Since 1998, student enrollment is down more than 15,000 students,” she said. “We had an independent demographer who presented to our board in November and in January and tied this reduction to a historic decrease in birth rate, and therefore, to school-aged populations across the United States, as well as the shortages of affordable housing options for young families in the urban core.
Forbes Elementary School, for example, has a capacity of 380 students, but has only 158 students enrolled — 42% capacity. Many hover around 50%, while other parts of the district have campuses exceeding capacity. The variation leads to unequal application of the district’s academics, something trustees aim to remedy in alignment with the “Always Learning” strategic plan.
In recent months, the district has taken staff, board members, parents and members of the San Antonio Alliance teacher and staff union to Cleveland, Ohio, and Jefferson County, Colorado, to study the recent closures of schools in districts there. New trustee Stephanie Torres, who recounted on the campaign trail in May her experience as a parent when an SAISD school closed in 2018, was unsure how she was going to vote on the measure Tuesday morning.Trustee Sarah Sorensen also said the scope of the resolution was overly broad and timing rushed.
“I’ve been on the other end when people say they listen and hear, but they’re not actually hearing,” she said, adding that students are still adjusting to school after years of disruption due to COVID.
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