Delayed 2022 Northside ISD bond projects at West Side schools rankle city council members
Two city councilmen want the Northside Independent School District to "actively engage" with families at schools where bond projects approved by voters in 2022 have been placed on hold indefinitely.
Council members Edward Mungia and Ric Galvan, who each represent portions of Northside ISD, sent a letter Thursday to Superintendent John Craft saying the delay of elementary school projects has upset "families we represent."
Earlier this year, Northside put nine 2022 bond projects totaling nearly $200 million on hold, with Craft saying he wants to make sure the intended uses for the bond funds are still in the best interests of students and the community.
"As representatives on the San Antonio City Council for Districts 4 and 6, we take seriously our responsibility to the students, families, and workers who depend on NISD schools," Mungia and Galvan wrote.
In the letter, they said voters approved a $992 million bond "with the understanding that meaningful investments would be made in school facilities and infrastructure," casting votes that "reflected a shared commitment to providing safe, modern, and supportive learning environments."
Since the bond issue passed, enrollment in the district has declined from about 105,000 to 97,600 this year. Enrollment losses typically bring financial woes for Texas public school districts, which receive state funding based on how many students show up for class each day.
Northside ISD intends to seek voter approval in November of a 3-cent increase to its property tax rate, as well as a $400 million bond issue to target campus priorities.
The district also has hired a third-party consultant, Civic Solutions Group, to study ways to improve efficiency. The consultant group will gauge the desires and interests of the community; analyze demographics, academic data and building use; and recommend improvements, including potential consolidations or school closures.
Northside ISD spokesman Barry Perez did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the councilmen's letter.
"I will still stand fast in saying by holding just a little bit until we have really clear visioning as to what needs to happen at the campuses, we're going to be better off in the end," Craft last month told Northside's Building Committee, which includes board trustees who will soon nominate community members to serve on a Citizen Bond Committee.
"We just want to make sure that what we're building and putting on the ground are going to serve students in an optimal fashion for years and years to come," he said in an interview after the March 18 meeting.
San Antonio ISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino drew similar criticism when he paused some voter-approved 2020 bond projects after he arrived in 2022, knowing school closures were likely. That district has since shuttered 15 campuses, and it plans to close two more this year. But it intends to use some $76 million in unspent bond funds to build a new school at the site of Rhodes Middle School and Carvajal Elementary, both set to close on San Antonio's near West Side this summer.
But the two councilman said Northside's "decision to halt improvements at nine elementary schools-many located on the west side of
San Antonio-has raised concerns among the families we represent," according to the letter.
They're particularly vexed about $117 million in projects approved but delayed at Valley Hi, Meadow Village, Hull, Cable, and Linton elementary schools.
"These projects are important to the communities they serve and to maintaining confidence in the bond process," Mungia and Galvan wrote. "We recognize the challenges posed by shifting enrollment and financial constraints."
Still, the pair insisted that "decisions of this scale" underscore the need for the district to be transparent and engage with the community.
"We encourage the district to actively engage with the communities and staff at schools affected, listen to their perspectives, and work collaboratively toward solutions that reflect both current realities and the commitments made to voters," the councilmen wrote.
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