San Antonio ISD ranks as the 13th largest of Texas' 1,057 school districts.[3] The District encompasses 79 square miles with a total population of 306,943 (2010 U.S. Census). San Antonio ISD serves the Downtown, Midtown, and inner city areas of the city of San Antonio and a small portion of the city of Balcones Heights. With over 48,720 students (as of 2018),[4] the district is the third largest school district in the Bexar County area.[5]
2010-11
President, James Howard
Vice-president, Carlos Villarreal
Secretary, Thomas C. Lopez
Asst. Secretary, Olga Hernandez
Member, Ruben D. Cuero
Member, Adela R. Segovia
Member, Ed Garza
2011-12
President, James Howard
Vice-president, Carlos Villarreal
Secretary, Adela R. Segovia
Asst. Secretary, Olga Hernandez
Member, Ruben D. Cuero
Member, Ed Garza
Member, Patti Radle
2012-13
President, Ed Garza
Vice-president, Ruben D. Cuero
Secretary, Olga Hernandez
Asst. Secretary, Adela R. Segovia
Member, Debra Guerrero
Member, James Howard
Member, Patti Radle
2013-14
President, Ed Garza
Vice-president, Olga Hernandez
Secretary, Arthur V. Valdez
Asst. Secretary, James Howard
Member, Debra Guerrero
Member, Steve Lecholop
Member, Patti Radle
2019-20
President, Patti Radle
Vice-president, Arthur V. Valdez
Secretary, Debra Guerrero
Asst. Secretary, Steve Lecholop
Member, Alicia M. Perry
Member, Christina Martinez
Member, Ed Garza
2021-22
President, Christina Martinez
Vice-president, Alicia Sebastian
Secretary, Arthur V. Valdez
Member, Sarah Sorensen
Member, Leticia Ozuna
Member, Patti Radle
Member, Ed Garza
History
While San Antonio public schools were established by the City Council in 1854, it wasn't until May 2, 1899, that the school system became an independent district with the formation of its own board of trustees. San Antonio ISD received its first charter from the state of Texas in 1903.[3]
One of San Antonio's most outstanding assets is the preservation of its historic sites and neighborhoods, most of which are found within SAISD. All have strong, active neighborhood associations.
SAISD is the tenth-largest public employer in San Antonio, with more than 7,000 employees serving about 49,000 students. The District's resources consist of local, state, and federal revenue.[6]
Local revenue consists primarily of property taxes and also includes local grant donations. State revenue accounts for the District's largest share of revenue and is mainly driven by Average Daily Attendance (ADA) and the District's total property value. Federal revenue is a minor component of the operating budget but the major source of revenue for the Food Service Fund and is driven by the number of meals served and the number of students who qualify for the free- and reduced-price lunch program.[6]
In the 2016–2017 school year, about 5,050 students went from SAISD to charter schools, and in the last part of the 2017–2018 school year that number increased to about 10,100, while about 200 students living in SAISD were in other school districts. For the 2018–2019 school year the district ended the employment of 132 teachers over budget cuts, and budget was reduced by 6%, totaling $31 million. By 2018, in a response to a decline in enrollment, the district repurposed several campuses as magnet schools or specialty schools to attract parents who would otherwise put their children in private school.[7]
In 2023 there was a proposal to close 19 schools.[8]
Demographics
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2019)
As of 2018[update] 91% of the students are considered low income. As of that year, people transferring from other school districts to SAISD tended to live in more upscale communities.[7]
School uniforms
All San Antonio ISD students are required to wear school uniforms. Students are required to wear white collared shirts and khaki bottoms. They are also permitted to wear polo shirts with their schools' colors.[9] The Texas Education Agency specifies that the parents and/or guardians of students zoned to a school with uniforms may apply for a waiver to opt out of the uniform policy so their children do not have to wear the uniform; parents must specify "bona fide" reasons, such as religious reasons or philosophical objections.[10]
Center for Applied Science & Technology (CAST Tech) High School
The school, designed by H-E-B CEO Charles Butt and inspired by the High Tech High charter schools system, opened with the ninth grade in fall 2017. Its initial enrollment was 175.[12]
Bowden Academy - As per a 2016 bond it is scheduled to get a $11.1 million refurbishment. Brian Sparks, in 2018, served as principal at both Bowden and Lamar Elementary, and he was making efforts to improve Bowden's performance levels to that of Lamar's. As of 2018 a significant number of parents zoned to Bowden instead send their children to other schools, public and private. Most people residing in the area are of a lower socioeconomic strata although by 2018 gentrification of the area began. Aliyya Swaby and Alexa Ura of Texas Tribune, in 2018, described it as "drab and dimly lit" and that it "is still struggling".[7]
The school, as of December 2016 also ranked as exemplary by the Texas Education Agency, has a college readiness focus with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math.
Elementary schools
Charles August Arnold Elementary School
Barkley-Ruiz Elementary School
Mildred Baskin Elementary School
J.T. Brackenridge Elementary School
Andrew Briscoe Elementary School
Bella Cameron Elementary School
Collins Garden Elementary School
Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School
Frederick Douglass Elementary School
Marin B. Fenwick Elementary School
Benjamin Franklin Elementary School
Samuel Houston Gates Elementary School
Charles Graebner Elementary School
Highland Hills Elementary School
Highland Park Elementary School
Hillcrest Elementary School
Herman Hirsch Elementary School
Mary Huppertz Elementary School
George E. Kelly Elementary School
Sarah King Elementary School
Mirabeau B. Lamar Elementary School - As of 2018[update] the student body was majority Hispanic but the school's attendance area was experiencing gentrification. The school has a dual English-Spanish program. Sparks, also principal at Bowden Academy, served as principal of Lamar since circa 2013 That year Swaby and Ura stated that "Over the last five years, Sparks has made Lamar a winner with the help of an engaged corps of parents".[7]
James Madison Elementary School
Samuel A. Maverick Elementary School
Dorie Miller Elementary School
Elma A. Neal Elementary School
John J. Pershing Elementary School
Cleto L. Rodriguez Montessori Elementary School
Kate Schenck Elementary School
Smith Elementary School
P.F. Stewart Elementary School
Ollie Perry Storm Elementary School
Booker T. Washington Elementary School
Woodrow Wilson Elementary School
Woodlawn Hills Elementary School
Early childhood education centers
Henry Carroll Early Childhood Education Center
Esther Perez Carvajal Early Childhood Education Center
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