This story has been updated.
The Edgewood Independent School District will hold three community meetings this month to discuss a plan to redesign the district starting as soon as next school year. Proposed changes, which could include school closures, will be presented for the first time at the meetings.
“The meetings are a chance for community members to give input and ask questions,” Lauren Blevins, a spokeswoman for the district, said Tuesday.
The meetings will happen in the days leading up to the next school board meeting, which will be on Oct. 24:
- Oct. 19: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. — John F. Kennedy High School Auditorium
- Oct. 20: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. — Edgewood Theatre of Performing Arts
- Oct. 23: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. — Memorial High School Auditorium
The recommendations will come from a task force that was launched in August to explore potential solutions to dwindling enrollment, which public records show only makes up about 50% of district capacity, with funding declining as a result.
Superintendent Eduardo Hernández included a reminder about the meetings during a board workshop on Oct. 2, where the board and district planned the agenda for the Oct. 24 board meeting.
At the same meeting, district officials discussed future budget amendments, noting that the work of the task force could impact future budget decisions.
School closures possible
Last month, Hernández told the San Antonio Report the rethink and redesign process would likely result in school closures or consolidations.
“That is definitely on the table,” he said at the time. “This conversation cannot happen without that being put out there.”
Olga Moucoulis, chief of staff and communications for the district, said the task force proposals will be analyzed along with community input by the Facilities and Finance Advisory Committee before the board hears a final recommendation on Nov. 7.
They board will take a vote the next week on Nov. 14.
Community members, including a member of the task force, worry that time is running out for meaningful engagement on a plan that could impact campuses as soon as next year.
The San Antonio Independent School District is moving into the final stages of a school closure process that lasted more than three months and involved 36 in-person meetings to gather feedback and form a framework to calculate school closures.
Even then, elected officials, parents and community members have asked for more time to consider the possibility of closing schools and called the process rushed.
When asked in September about SAISD’s process, Hernández noted the size difference between the 45,000 student body of SAISD and the 8,000 student body of Edgewood.
The three meetings are proportional, he said, to the 14 initial meetings SAISD held.
“We’re going to do three or four that are actually formal meetings … because of rethink redesign … especially inviting some of our neighborhood groups,” he said.
The district has created a website with information related to the process, including key dates.
