San Antonio ISD students returned to class on Thursday morning, a day after the district canceled classes due to cold weather.
Following a wintry mix and freezing temperatures, all school districts in Bexar County canceled school on Tuesday. However, SAISD was the only Bexar County school district to cancel classes on Wednesday.
In its letter to parents, the district cited the safety of students during cold temperatures and unique challenges.
However, SAISD has also faced issues and concerns in the past with its heating and HVAC systems, especially in older buildings.
Texas State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) is familiar with and understands the district’s challenges. Bernal’s District 123 represents a large amount of SAISD schools.
You can watch the full interview with Bernal in the video player below:
Bernal said it is a complicated problem because many district buildings are aging, the area is landlocked and many were built decades ago.
He said it’s up to lawmakers in Austin to work together to help aging districts like SAISD, but the amount of money needed could also come down to more bond money.
“They’re going to need an influx of funding even just for inflation,” Bernal said. “And then because of the size and the depth of their issues, I suspect that it’s going to be have to it’s going to have to be part of their next bond.”
Bernal said there could be an avenue for more school funding for districts like SAISD this legislative session, depending on what happens with school vouchers.
“If it does pass, we can attach a school finance bill to it saying if you want this, then our schools need this,” he said. “I think that there’s going to be sort of a Texas Two-Step with vouchers and school finance.”
Bernal added there could also be a shift in how public school students are funded, focusing more on enrollment and not attendance.
“They all have different challenges that are rooted in the way the school finance system works. I think that there are parts of that system that we need to change,” he said. “I think there’s one significant change on the horizon, which is the way that we fund the students. Previously, we funded it on attendance. There’s conversations about funding it on enrollment. That would change the math in a way that’s helpful.”
Bernal’s daughter attends an SAISD school, so he understands that maintaining older buildings will continue to be challenging.
“The ripple effects of this go all the way down; they go all the way down, whether it’s the kids missing school or the parents having to find or pay for child care,” he said. “All of it is really difficult, so I think the message is let’s do the best that we can to figure this out, and let’s do what we can to work together (and) create a plan. Let’s not leave them on an island. Let’s just see what we can do for their sake and for the rest of the city.”
