San Antonio school union leaders are demanding better funding, working conditions and more from state lawmakers as they prepare to return for another session in Austin, pointing to a wave of school closures across the city as a consequence of what will happen otherwise.
Area school labor leaders and advocates originally planned to gather at the shuttered Dorie Miller Elementary School Tuesday, to announce those demands in an “educator’s bill of rights” in anticipation of a contentious legislative session starting in a few months.
The bill includes the right to organize, the right to fair wages and the right to reasonable working conditions, with organizers pointing to the lack of increased state funding for schools in recent years, despite a large surplus of funds in the state’s coffers.
“While the governor hoards billions of taxpayer dollars meant for our schools, funding-starved districts have been forced to make cuts, lay off educators and staff, and in some cases even close and consolidate campuses,” Texas American Federation of Teachers.
The press conference was rained out and moved inside, but leaders still made a point to note the symbolism of discussing funding in front of a freshly closed campus.
Just a few months earlier, families spanning generations wandered the same halls, taking photos and exchanging stories — knowing its doors were closing for good.
Labor leaders drew the line between lacking state funding and the closures, even though SAISD leaders have been adamant that the recent closures were about resource allocation, and not closed for financial reasons.
Should the funding woes continue, however, SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino has warned of dire consequences, including staffing reductions, a shortened school week and more campus closures.
Wanda Longoria, secretary-treasurer of Texas AFT and former president of Northside AFT, said without a change, more schools could see a similar fate as Dorie Miller.
“That is, closed, shuttered, and forced to consolidate because the governor would rather play politics with our schools than fully fund them,” she said in a statement. “The Educator’s Bill of Rights will secure funds for our schools, support our kids with the resources they need and keep our talented educators where they belong — in the classroom with their students.”
Leaders urged teachers and others in the education space to vote for candidates that support the public education system. School choice was a leading issue in the Republican primary earlier this year, and is slated to be a defining issue when voters head to the polls in November.
Sarah Zimmerman, an SAISD teacher and member of the San Antonio Alliance union, said in a statement that the closures have been hard to explain to students.
“How do we explain to our students that they don’t get to come back to their campus next year?” she asked. “That they won’t see their favorite teachers in the halls? That their friends might end up at different campuses? Our district serves working-class communities of color that should be invested in, not divested from.”
SAISD closed 13 campuses and approved plans to merge others after an analysis found that the district was maintaining almost 100 campuses, years after enrollment had fallen by tens of thousands of students, creating both logistical and financial hurdles that were becoming too much to afford.
After a districtwide meltdown of heating systems started the year off in 2024, the district renewed calls for more resources from the state, while also pointing at the size of the district’s footprint in comparison to a shrinking enrollment pool.
A committee recommended in an after-action report that another round of possible closures be presented to the board by the end of 2025, signaling another difficult process for communities in the coming months.
For employees at the campus level, the impact of underfunding is felt on a day-to-day basis.
In Northside ISD, where the union fought unsuccessfully for greater pay increases for auxiliary staff earlier this year, teacher and union member Ledda Arcelus said that working in schools is seen by many as a calling. “But it’s also a career.”
“Too many educators are being priced out of the communities where we live, where we teach, and where we’ve built our lives,” Arcelus said. “It’s beyond living paycheck to paycheck at this point. No one wins when qualified, certified teachers and support staff are forced out of the profession.”
Starting teacher pay in the district with no experience starts at $60,000 after a raise was approved over the summer. Some auxiliary staff members, however, still make just over $20,000 a year, according to the union.
Lawmakers are discussing school funding along with proposals to allow public dollars to be used by parents and students at private schools — an embattled school voucher program pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott and many Republicans.
Kristian Carranza, Democratic candidate for HD-118, pointed to her childhood, when an afterschool program at Harlandale ISD helped her and her brother “grow and thrive.”
Harlandale ISD is one of the districts in the city to close campuses in recent years in response to falling enrollment and tight financial conditions.
“Too many schools have been shuttered because of Governor Abbott and the Legislature’s refusal to meet their constitutional duty of funding free public education,” Carranza said. “For working families like mine, public schools are the last remaining safety net they can rely on, and they should be fully funded.”
