District 5 Councilmember reacts to preliminary list of San Antonio ISD
Published on September 19, 2023
More concerning, District 5 has already experienced school closures in neighboring school districts like South San Antonio ISD and Harlandale ISD. Additionally, Edgewood ISD recently announced a new “Rethink. Redesign. Task Force” aimed at tackling the “challenges of enrollment and funding.”
“Our concern from the outset of this rightsizing plan has focused primarily on the unique challenges that exist for a district like ours located in San Antonio’s inner West and Southside,” Councilmember Castillo said after attending the SAISD board meeting. “Our belief is that the timeline for this process is moving too fast as there is still an equity audit that has not been completed. What are the long-term effects of school closures for historically red-lined, divested communities? If equity is an integral part of this process, it is difficult to find its role in this preliminary list of school closures. A majority of which are in historically underserved parts of our city particularly in the West, East, and South sides of San Antonio.”
When the proposed school closures are plotted on a map that include San Antonio’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) red-lining overlay, many of the proposed school closures are in areas of San Antonio that were systematically denied banking, housing, and economic opportunities. (A map is attached to demonstrate.)
“What we are experiencing right now are great challenges in San Antonio’s public in part due to the state of Texas’ lack of support for our public schools,” the Councilmember added. “On our end we must continue to push for deeply affordable housing to boost enrollment numbers, housing that is in-line with our Strategic Housing Implementation Plan so working families in communities systematically denied opportunities can afford to thrive and attend community schools that can address their needs inside and outside the classroom.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics’ research “Rankings of the States 2022 and Estimates of School Statistics 2023,” Texas ranks 37th in spending per enrolled public-school student.
A second round of community engagement meetings will occur in the areas where school closures have been proposed.
Sept. 23 (Sat.), 10 a.m.
Lowell Middle School
919 Thompson Place, 78226
Focus Audience: Kelly, Lowell
Sept. 25 (Mon.), 6 p.m.
Beacon Hill Academy
1411 W. Ashby Place, 78201
Focus Audience: Beacon Hill, Cotton
Sept. 26 (Tues.), 6 p.m.
Collins Garden Elementary
167 Harriman Place, 78204
Focus Audience: Collins Garden, Barkley-Ruiz, Briscoe, Sarah King, J.T. Brackenridge, Kelly, Lowell
According to the SAISD Community Engagement Calendar, more meetings will be added as dates and locations are confirmed. More information can be found at saisd.net/rightsizing.