The South San Antonio Independent School District Board of Trustees must adopt a balanced budget by the next fiscal year to avoid elevated sanctions by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), including the ouster of the board and the appointment of a board of managers in October.
That update was one of the most significant provided by Abe Saavedra since the TEA appointed him as a conservator to oversee the district at the beginning of October amid growing financial concerns and ongoing infighting on the board.
The budget is just one of the criteria identified in an “ongoing process,” Saavedra said at a board meeting last week, which includes meetings with senior district administration. The district is facing a budget deficit of at least $9 million.
“It is expected that you will be able to adopt a balanced budget,” he said. “I’ve… discussed this with [district CFO Tony] Kingman, and his response is that it can be done, but it won’t be easy.”
At the same meeting, Kingman presented the district’s state financial health report, where, thanks to an increase in tax revenue and federal COVID relief dollars, the district received a “superior rating” of 92 out of 100.
However, the large amount of debt carried by the district kept it from a perfect score and could prevent the district from achieving a similar score in the coming years if it isn’t brought down.
“Basically, we have $130 million in debt for our district and TEA says that is too high for our total assets,” Kingman said. “The only way to improve the 92 is to reduce our debt to a lower number.”
Changes in managing finances sought
Saavedra said a solution would involve significant changes to how the board has managed finances in the past.
“You simply spend more money than what comes in,” he said. “That is a practice that’s been in place in South San for many, many, many years.”
One indicator on the state financial report card, known as the Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST), is whether the number of days of cash on hand and current investments in the general fund are sufficient to cover operating expenditures.
The district scored high marks in the most recent report, with 190 days of cash on hand in the last fiscal year. But the current trends and the end of federal COVID relief dollars will quickly change that reality, Kingman said.
“When they look at 23-24 we no longer have ESSER funds and that 190 days … will see a significant decrease from 190 to probably … 100, and if the trend continues you will see a dip lower than 90 days,” Kingman said.
Saavedra warned that the district will face a high cost to achieve a balanced budget, a standard that has evaded many districts recently due to high inflation and the lack of increased funding from the state to compensate.
“I want to emphasize to the board that as you move forward, there’s going to be some tough decisions to make, real tough decisions to make,” he said. “But you’ve got to be able to reduce your expenditures or you’ll never get out of this hole.”
Those actions could come to light sooner rather than later.
While no details were immediately available, the district posted an agenda for a community meeting on Nov. 29 where “administration will present current and future allocations of district resources to support student learning.”
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Shepard Middle School, 5558 Ray Ellison Blvd.
The district is one of four in San Antonio this year to shutter school buildings to align resources with a shrinking student population.
Saavedra and Superintendent Henry Yzaguirre have said the district is likely to revisit the closure of West Campus High School, which has reported low enrollment since reopening in 2019. The campus was removed from a list of schools slated for closure after months of debate earlier this year.
Optimizing finances is among a new set of goals set by the board last week during a workshop.
Board censures trustee
Saavedra has spent months asking the board to focus on student achievement over board squabbles. District staff presented 9-week assessments, which was a significant focus of the meeting last week.
But past board infighting continued to dominate the conversation, with board members voting to censure trustee Homer Flores Jr. for allegedly using “highly vulgar, offensive and profane language” to insult Saavedra and Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath during executive session of a June board meeting.
Trustee Abel Martinez, who is scheduled to appear in court in early December on the charge of disrupting a meeting after a complaint filed by board president Manuel Lopez, broke his meeting-long silence last week to question why the board was focusing on an incident that occurred months ago. The vote passed 4-1 with trustee Shirley Ibarra and Flores absent.
Yzaguirre, who has shied away from addressing the infighting on the board, made a statement during the meeting calling out the negative attention that has been drawn to the district.
“For the record: we are a rooted, hard-working community who want nothing better than to offer the best educational opportunities for our students,” he said.
“Enough is enough,” he added. “We will no longer allow anyone to falsely represent us. That is a message for anyone who has any intention to tarnish the image of our community and the hard work our students put in every day.”
