SAN ANTONIO — South San Antonio ISD will be holding a special meeting on Thursday to discuss budget plans after voting last month to reopen three schools.
Board President Connie Prado said the district is projecting the cost of reopening the schools to be close to $6 million, and despite public skepticism she said the district has the money to cover the costs.
“Our goal is to use the current revenues and not have to touch general fund balance very much, if any at all, and still have the three-month operating expense budget that is required by TEA,” Prado said.
Prado said the school buildings are intact and don’t need a lot of work to reopen.
For example, Prado said the former West Campus High School building, which now houses the district’s administrative offices, doesn’t need renovations to open.
“The building is brand new. It doesn’t need to be redone or reconfigured. It’s perfect the way it is,” she said.
Prado said opening the neighborhood schools will bring students back to the district who have enrolled at area charter schools, and growth in the area will bring in new students.
“There is so much development out there and almost close to a thousand homes are coming up. If we don’t capture those kids now, within this school year, we’re going to lose them,” she said.
However, many still have questions whether or not those students would return to their neighborhood schools.
“There’s no guarantee they’re going to come, and there’s no guarantee that they’re not going to come,” said Prado. “But if you don’t open it, how do you know?”
Despite the trustees’ 4 to 3 vote to open the schools, there are some people in the community who still disagree with the plan.
Two students from South San High School have been voicing their concerns about re-opening the schools.
Melivia Mujica said she attended Athens Elementary School, and remembers the building being in bad condition when she was there.
“It was a smart decision for them to close it down, and now reopening it again? Instead, you could have just improved it, but you didn’t and now we’re wasting even more money,” said Mujica, a high school senior.
Junior Marc Mendiola said some of the schools currently open are lacking resources and the money should be funneled back into existing campuses.
“I just want to see our money being used wisely going back into our schools and making sure that we're providing the best programs, not mediocre ones” Mendiola said.
Meanwhile, the TEA launched an investigation into the district alleging the board overstepped their authority in trying to reopen the schools without the recommendation of the superintendent.
A spokesperson for the TEA wasn’t able to provide any details on the investigation, and would say “it was ongoing.”
The superintendent, Dr. Alexandro Flores, wasn’t available to comment for this story.