As South San Antonio ISD wrestles with a precarious budget shortfall, the specter of layoffs looms large over the district, with Superintendent Henry Yzaguirre eyeing the potential elimination of 20 teaching positions and two administrative roles. Yzaguirre asserts the cuts are a last-ditch effort for efficiency, pledging the layoffs won't affect those working in elementary schools and stating, "I want to be clear that making my recommendation of declaring a financial exigency is our last opportunity should we not be able to place all staff that might be displaced with the consolidation of West Campus and South San High School," according to information disclosed in a recent KENS5 report.
But the South San American Federation of Teachers is pushing back fiercely against the proposition, as executive director Tom Cummins champions the cause, suggesting layoffs are premature, and other avenues remain unexplored, in a letter to the board he points to the perennial ebb and flow of retirements and departures as a natural means for staff reduction, arguing the absence of need for sweeping layoffs, particularly amidst a documented teacher shortage and frequent reliance on low-paid substitutes and so-called "temporary teachers" who've filled in for extended stretches.
In the meantime, Trustee Homer Flores Jr., having surmounted his own seven-month medical battle which saw him lose half a foot to diabetes complications, is poised to reclaim his seat on the embattled board, as per an account by the San Antonio Report. Flores' hiatus didn't just leave his District 3 constituents without representation, it collided with pivotal votes on issues including a TEA-directed conservator and layoffs that followed the board's declaration of financial exigency – his absence, a silent yet profound lament within the symphony of district challenges.
Foreshadowing further turmoil, the TEA's appointed conservator, Abe Saavedra, flagged concerns to the San Antonio Report about the board's capacity to demonstrate unified governance to the TEA in the face of chronic absenteeism, pointing out that Shirley Ibarra, District 4's trustee, also missed a significant portion of recent meetings, "There seems to be a solid four people on the board majority that want to do the right thing for kids," Saavedra said, highlighting the need for full participation in order to convey a message of competence to the overseeing agency – meanwhile, Flores prepares to catch up on district matters after a long convalescence.
Circling back to the budget crisis, it's clear the district rests on a financial knife-edge, with a $9.5 million deficit sharpened by years of declining student enrollment prompting the closure of four schools in 2023, including the shuttering of West Campus High School in December, a sharp move by the district, and one that's stirred controversy within the community. Cummins, in the same breath, encourages the search for federal grants and awaits potential legislative developments, namely education funding bills that might materialize from an additional special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, even suggesting proactive student recruitment programs to counter the plummeting enrollment and associated revenue loss.
