As the cold snap grips San Antonio, thousands of students in the San Antonio ISD are bracing to return to classrooms despite the extreme weather. After a bout of widespread heating failures led to school closures, SAISD campuses are set to reopen doors to students earlier today. A press conference is also scheduled where officials are expected to discuss the recent issues, as reported by KENS5.
Last week saw the abrupt resignation of two key administrators, prompting Interim Chief of Operations Jenny Arredondo to step in. SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino is said to have accepted both resignations after heating systems failures during a time of frigid temperatures, forcing the closure of nearly all SAISD campuses. Aquino attributes the breakdowns to a combination of human error, faulty equipment, and insufficient infrastructure. In a move to assure the public, he has committed to quickly opening the district’s 90-plus campuses earlier today and has pledged to release a comprehensive report of the incident.
Preparations to welcome students back have involved extensive work, with as many as 50 technicians working through the weekend, according to Superintendent Aquino. Support has been observed from neighboring districts, with trucks from another district noted to be making repairs at Cottonwood Elementary yesterday. School officials were ready to take questions earlier today regarding the swift preparations to reopen campuses.
However, this resolve to continue classes amidst an arctic blast was met with a mixed response. SAISD and surrounding districts were reported to have low attendance rates when they decided to hold class on Tuesday, January 16, when temperatures were expected to hit record lows. One high school within the district, Burbank High School, was compelled to cancel classes due to persisting heating problems. Superintendent Aquino explained that "We have been diligently checking all campuses today to ensure school facilities will be warm for students and staff on Tuesday," in a statement obtained by MySA. "Unfortunately, Burbank High School requires a repair before we will be able to confirm proper room temperature. For that reason, the students and staff of Burbank High School are being asked not to report to school on Tuesday, Jan. 16."
School officials have not responded to an inquiry from MySA about whether the heating issue at Burbank High School would be resolved by Wednesday. Additionally, when asked about tomorrow's attendance compared to a typical school day, SAISD officials directed the publication to submit a Public Information Act request, with no response received before the publication deadline.
