Michael Karlis
The SAISD Board of Trustees in a 5-2 vote in May opted to close 15 schools and merge three others as part of a controversial "rightsizing plan."
The first of seven meetings will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Jefferson High School, 723 Donaldson Ave. The gatherings will run through the first week of September.
During the meetings, district officials will provide timetables and updates on the repurposing process. Members of the public also will be invited to provide input on what they'd like to see happen to the shuttered campuses.
SAISD Public Repurposing Meeting Meeting Schedule:
Aug. 10 – 6 p.m.: Jefferson High School
Aug. 27 – 6 p.m.: Edison High School
Aug. 28 – 6 p.m.: Highlands High School
Aug. 29 – 6 p.m.: Lanier High School
Sept. 3 – 6 p.m.: Brackenridge High School
Sept. 4 – 6 p.m.: Burbank High School
Sept. 5 – 6 p.m.: Sam Houston High School
The meetings come after the SAISD Board of Trustees voted 5-2 last November to close 15 campuses and merge three others as part of what the district called a "rightsizing plan." Superintended Jaime Aquino, who took the job in 2022, said the streaming was necessary because of the inequitable distribution of resources across district campuses.
Aquino also said the closed schools were in neighborhoods with declining populations due to an exodus to the suburbs.
"Every single day I lose sleep, because every single day in our classrooms we are losing a generation of students … and this is hopefully a new beginning," Aquino said at the time. "I am grateful that we had this public conversation that was long overdue. I hope that we all come together as a familia to do better for our kids."
SAISD has since formed a committee of community members to make recommendations to the Board of Trustees on how to make the best use of the district's now-vacant facilities.
Under a resolution adopted last year by SAISD's Board of Trustees, Green, Foster, Miller, Highland Park, Douglass, Forbes, Huppertz, Lamar, and Storm elementary schools closed at the end of the last school year. Knox, Nelson and Tynnan Early Childhood Centers also shut down.
Meanwhile, Beacon Hill Dual Language Academy and Cotton Academy combined, as did Kelly Elementary and Lowell Middle Schools along with Gonzalez Early Childhood Center and Twain Dual Language Academy.
SAISD also plans to hold additional meetings after it hires a consultant this fall to manage the repurposing process, according to district officials.
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