SAN ANTONIO — A coalition of teachers, students and overall education advocates are calling on San Antonio ISD leaders to focus on community engagement as the district begins a study that could lead to closing down schools.
The San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees adopted a resolution on Tuesday to move forward with a study on school building capacity “for the purpose of supporting thriving schools, classrooms, students, teachers, and school leaders,” as outlined on the district’s website.
More than 20 years of steadily declining enrollment has led to academic and financial inequities, according to the district.
San Antonio ISD noted in its online breakdown that the rightsizing assessment intends to explore ways of restructuring school facilities. This could mean shutting down schools, co-locating schools to the same campus or consolidating facilities.
There’s also the prospect of expanding opportunities with fewer schools, ranging from fine arts, athletics, mental health support, special education services and ensuring a security officer at each campus.
“School closures must only be considered as an absolute last resort,” said Alejandra Lopez, president of the San Antonio Alliance.
Representatives with Our Schools San Antonio and the San Antonio Alliance explained how research shows how closing schools can negatively impact students and their families. The organizations cited UT Austin associate professor Terrance green:
“Student academic outcomes is a key priority for many school districts. However, closing schools does not consistently improve student outcomes. In fact, in some cases it has done the opposite. A study from the University of Chicago’s Consortium on School Research examined the effects of school closures on students four years after their schools were closed. They found that ‘students from closed schools experienced a long-term negative impact on their math test scores,’ and that ‘the gap in math test scores remained for four years post-closing.’
“We are not just a rubber stamp nor a box to be checked,” said Jennifer Tobias of Our Schools SA. “Just like we do when we vote on an in-district charter, we can also implement a two-thirds majority vote by the community to determine what happens to our schools.”
The coalition is demanding minimum impact on staff, students and families as the study progresses and decisions are made about the future of schools.
The group is pushing for a year-long process that involves the community beyond five months before final recommendations are made.
The coalition is also calling for a comprehensive breakdown of the cost of every proposed school restructuring.
“I think it’s a really big concern for our families, which one are going to be closed because they’re going to want to know where to move, when to pull their students, when teachers want to find new jobs,” said SAISD Student Coalition’s Alyssa Martinez.
San Antonio ISD plans to hold community meetings to gather input. Final recommendations to the board of trustees will be presented by November 13. If approved by the board, the recommendations will go into effect for the 2024-2025 school year.
To learn more about the study and follow its progress, go here.