June 20, 2023 – The San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees tonight brought forward and approved a resolution on facilities planning and development. The resolution calls for a study of school building capacity to “rightsize” student enrollment with building capacity, for the purpose of supporting thriving schools, classrooms, students, teachers, and school leaders.

“Rightsizing presents a unique opportunity to elevate the standard of education in our community," said Dr. Jaime Aquino, SAISD superintendent. "Matching our school capacity with enrollment numbers will ensure that our schools are well-resourced and equitable, providing a robust learning environment for all our students."

SAISD has been losing enrollment steadily for more than 20 years, and the district has not closed school buildings at the rate of the enrollment decline. As a result, many of the schools are under-enrolled, and this has led to academic and financial program inequities.

The study will assess all of the district’s schools, analyze the student enrollment at each school, evaluate if SAISD is providing high-quality education as promised, consider whether the building is being used effectively, and determine whether resources are fairly distributed to support all students. The result of the study may lead to restructuring, or rightsizing, school sites to better serve students. Rightsizing may involve closing school buildings, co-locating schools to the same campus, or consolidating multiple schools into one school.

To engage the community in this study, the district will host multiple meetings in each comprehensive high school feeder pattern beginning in August. Recommendations from the study, if approved by the Board, will go into effect for the 2024-2025 school year. 

“There will be no impact to schools in the 2023-2024 school year,” Aquino said. “And before any recommendation is made, we will gather extensive feedback from our community. We will consider their input, and we will keep them informed so they have a full and transparent picture of the study.”

Addressing the inequities through rightsizing may have advantages for students and teachers. For instance, some of the advantages could include smaller class sizes and campuses having greater access to extraordinary academics, special education services, fine arts, and athletics, among other essential services such as social-emotional learning and mental health support. 

For teachers who were the only educator at a campus for a grade level or subject, an advantage after rightsizing could be that they would have peer educators on the same campus for collaboration on curriculum. For students, an advantage could be that they experience a broader range of student peer interactions; and with more educator and staff support, they could receive more enrichment or intervention services based on their individual needs. 

Additionally, with fewer school buildings, there may be an opportunity to staff each campus with a safety and security officer, further enhancing schools safety.

“All of these advantages could lead to more thriving students and staff, and therefore, more thriving schools, and that is the ultimate goal of this study,” said Aquino. “We want, and we will, live up to our promise of an excellent education for all of our students.”

For more information about the study and its progress, please visit www.saisd.net/rightsizing.