After decades of struggles that include fights for equitable funding, state takeovers and more, the Edgewood Independent School District is on the cusp of closing schools because of a battle it is losing badly: filling campuses with students.
In the landlocked Westside district, enrolled students only occupy 50% of the district’s overall capacity, according to data obtained through an open records request.
Meanwhile, enrollment at almost half the schools is at less than 50%, including Roy Cisneros Elementary, which has a capacity of 594 students, but only has 210 students enrolled.
Against that backdrop, district leaders have convened a task force of community members, teachers and staff to “rethink and redesign” the district, which fell under 8,000 enrolled students for the first time this year.
Edgewood Superintendent Eduardo Hernández, who has cited a range of factors from the falling birth rate to the encroachment of charter schools on the district, told the San Antonio Report on Wednesday that the process would likely result in school closures or consolidations.
“That is definitely on the table. This conversation cannot happen without that being put out there,” he said. “So that’s definitely one part of the conversation. There is also repurposing buildings.”
School closures are not the sole focus of the task force, however, according to a frequently-asked-questions page on the district's website.
"This task force is meant to evaluate and identify opportunities for the district to optimize programming and resources," the website reads. "While that could include recommendations to combine schools, the task force may provide ideas, for example, on how we can increase enrollment in certain areas, better resource key programs, raise money or save money."
There is a possibility, according to the FAQ, that the task force could "bring forth a completely new perspective."
Edgewood's enrollment problems echo that of three other districts that have closed campuses or are in the process of identifying schools for closure in the San Antonio area amid an increasing number of circumstances.
Hernández points to a combination of unfunded mandates, like a new rule requiring harsher punishment for students vaping, and a lack of any increases in school funding from the state, as part of the challenges his district is facing.
"We're not getting the adequate amount of funding," he said. "Because of that, we're having to look at all of our resources, operating costs, facility usage, staffing structures, what's funded, what's not funded."
Without a change, the district will not be able to continue to provide a quality service, he said.
Community engagement on the way
Agapita Jaramillo, who is active in the Edgewood community, is part of the task force.
Members have met several times already, exploring data and providing feedback relating to six parameters: enrollment, financial impact, geographical location, facility condition, instruction programming and academic accountability.
She said the district has had similar realignment efforts in the past, but without obvious follow-up. From her time exploring the data, the situation is clear, she said.
"We already know that we are losing money and that there's a decrease in enrollment," she said. "So why are we having these meetings? Let's just cut to the chase and say that we need to close schools."
At the same time, she said the district should engage the broader community on the issues instead of just a task force.
Hernández said Wednesday that the task force will submit recommendations to the Finance and Facility Advisory Committee, which will then submit a recommendation to the board for a vote. No specific date for that recommendation has been shared, but district presentations and Hernández said the recommendation will be made in either October or November.
At that point, over October and November, the district will be holding more targeted community engagement meetings.
In the meantime, Hernández is meeting with teachers at campuses across the district to share the current situation.
Concerns that have come up in those meetings include the future of jobs in the event of changes to the district, he said.
Hernández said that he does not anticipate any cuts due to changes, citing the natural attrition that occurs year over year in the district.
Boosting enrollment with innovative programs
When talking about repurposing campuses, Hernández pointed to the Burleson Center, which was closed for years before being turned into a campus for 18 to 21-year-olds, which later expanded through a partnership with Texas A&M University-San Antonio. That partnership has brought investment and support into the district they otherwise would not have, he said.
That, and other partnerships the district has with charter operators, have allowed the district to attract and retain students .
"We methodically, intentionally partnered our schools in a way that we can leverage additional funding that we wouldn't have received from the state to promote school choice," he said. "So, it has allowed us to sustain programming that is very unique — a la carte, if you will — to certain segments of the population."
Given the ability of those partnership programs to bring in additional funds and attract students, enrollment will not be the only factor considered when looking at how schools are impacted, he said.
Boys and girls schools have been popular, Hernández said, as well as the visual arts program, which has a waiting list of 80 people.
Those innovative programs have buoyed the district's declining enrollment by attracting students from outside of the district, reflecting a trend seen in the San Antonio Independent School District, which is also now considering school closures due to declining enrollment and inequitable allocation of resources across the district as a result.
Edgewood ISD has also created innovation zones, which allow students and families to start pursuing a career path as young as elementary school, with specialized classes through high school.
Those partnerships also have had the added benefit of allowing the district to rebrand following years of dysfunction that ended with the state taking over the district and ousting the school board. The district has since returned to local control, and is in good standing with the Texas Education Agency.
"The goal was to associate the brand with somebody else's brand and get in the door, at least," Hernández said. "The rest of it is what we do."
Despite all those efforts, enrollment has been trending down in the district since the late 1980s. In 1987-88, 15,423 students were enrolled in the district. Last year, that number was down to 8,177.
Other suggestions have been floated for cost savings, including having parents drive their children to school, given the district's small footprint and the considerable transportation cost.
At this point, "every recommendation is being considered," Hernández said.
