The rightsizing decision was the result of a resolution the Board of Trustees approved on June 20, 2023, which was informed by two long-term trends. The first was declining enrollment due to a combination of decreasing birth rates and a lack of housing affordable to families with school-aged children. The second was a reluctance over the years to reduce the number of schools as student enrollment declined.
In its resolution, the board expressed concern about the consequences of these two trends, which they believed resulted in a growing and unintended inequitable distribution of resources among students. The resolution called for district staff to conduct a study to re-evaluate and optimize the district's resources, considering the changing demographics and the evolving needs of students.
In response, district staff drafted the values and criteria it could use as a framework to conduct the study and held 14 meetings to gather community feedback on the framework. Based on public input, the district substantially revised the framework, and then applied it to develop an initial rightsizing recommendation. The initial proposal was presented to the board on Sept. 18, 2023. The district followed the presentation with a second phase of engagement and held another 23 neighborhood meetings, located mainly at the affected schools.
In addition to these neighborhood meetings, SAISD held numerous meetings with various stakeholders including neighborhood associations, faith-based groups, the San Antonio Alliance and the Schools our Students Deserve Coalition, state, county and local elected officials, and multiple advisory committees and councils within the district.
In total, SAISD spent 146 days, which amounts to nearly five months, developing, presenting, discussing, and deliberating over the study. The final recommendation includes substantial adjustments to its Sept. 18 proposal, and the modifications align with the criteria and priorities established in the framework.
Learn more about the rightsizing process here.