SAN ANTONIO — The South San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees voted 3-1 on Wednesday to close West Campus High School ahead of the next academic school year.
Continuous declining student enrollment districtwide, as well as a $9.5 million budget deficit, prompted the proposal to shutter West Campus, which initially was on the chopping block earlier this year.
The decision to close West Campus High follows the board’s vote in April to end operations at Athens and Kindred elementary schools, along with Kazan Middle School, for similar reasons.
South San ISD went from 10,000 students to about 7,800 students between the 2012-2013 and 2022-2023 academic school years. The district’s partial financial solution to address the budget deficit included utilizing federal and state funds, and reducing the non-payroll budget by 9% across the district.
“This is not an issue of performance but, really, a big imbalance of services that we provide the students or (are) able to provide the students at West Campus,” said Superintendent Henry Yzaguirre during Wednesday’s board of trustees meeting.
Josette Melendez’s son is among the 502 students attending West Campus High School.
“Closing this school down is wrong,” Melendez said. “My son, he’s a junior. He’ll be a senior next year and he’s going to be forced to graduate from South San.”
Melendez’s soon-to-be high school senior is active in 10 organizations at West Campus. He also has some classes at South San High School. While Melendez understands the district’s need to address the ongoing financial shortfalls, she believes closing down schools could be detrimental for everyone.
“It’s just bittersweet. You started something here, you build a reputation, you put in so much work, then have to start all over in a new school,” Melendez said. “It’s not just affecting the teachers, the staff. No, it’s affecting the community. It’s affecting the kids.”