SAN ANTONIO — Declining student enrollment over 10 years, low-attendance rates and an ongoing budget deficit are among the reasons why South San Antonio Independent School District may shut down three of its schools.
The South San ISD Board of Trustees may decide during Wednesday’s meeting on whether to permanently close Athens Elementary, Kindred Elementary and Kazen Middle School.
A community meeting held in February revealed a $12 million deficit in the general fund, largely due to decreasing enrollment. District wide, 56% of classrooms are full.
South San ISD lost more than 2,000 students between the 2012-2013 and 2022-2023 academic school years, going from just under 10,000 students to more than 7,800 students.
Melinda Dehoyos’ nieces enjoy a convenient one-minute stroll down the street to attend Athens Elementary.
“The children love Athens Elementary, they love the staff, the history of the school. I even attended that school,” Dehoyos said.
The board shutdown Athens, Kazen and West Campus High School in 2017 for two years to save money and address low enrollment numbers. Trustees came together in 2019 to reopen the campuses, which in turn, returned students to their respective neighborhood schools.
Dehoyos hopes the district considers alternative solutions to closing down schools so families aren’t as impacted by the absence of reliable transportation. She said her nieces did not qualify for the school bus when Athens Elementary closed, so they walked 15 minutes to Carrillo, or had family drive them to campus.
“When Athens did close, the girls were going to Carrillo,” Dehoyos said. “And that was an issue for a lot of children in this side of the neighborhood where they are low-income and they don’t have vehicles, and maybe one vehicle per family.”
Alejandra Hernandez, whose boys attend Athens Elementary, wonders if the school closures could prompt overcrowding at other schools.
“I could just imagine at the other schools how it’s going to be. More kids piled up in there,” Hernandez said.
KENS 5 called and emailed South San ISD officials for comment, but did not hear back.
Wednesday’s school board of trustees meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at the district’s administration building on 1450 Gillette Boulevard.