Nearly 800 students walked into a brand-new building on the Southside this week, as Kate Schenck Elementary School reopened its doors on August 12 following a two-year, $33.9 million renovation. The Highland Hills campus, located near Pecan Valley Drive and Highway 281, now enrolls 764 students, making it the largest elementary school in the San Antonio Independent School District.
The rebuilt campus includes a new central two-story building, larger classrooms, a makerspace, a new library, and communal areas designed for small student groups, according to San Antonio Report. The school also got new drop-off and pick-up locations, covered walkways, new kitchen equipment, and improved parking and greenery. One thing that didn't change: the neon sunflower sign hanging in the school's cafe, a detail the district preserved through the overhaul.
A Two-Year Wait Ends With a New Front Door
Schenck's renovation forced staff and students to relocate to nearby Foster Elementary School for the duration of construction, the outlet reports. The arrangement mirrors what happened at Collins Garden Elementary School, whose students moved to Storm Elementary while their own campus underwent bond-funded renovations. Foster itself had been closed as an active elementary campus by the SAISD Board of Trustees in November 2023, freeing it up as swing space while Schenck's rebuild proceeded.
The finished campus now features a new front entrance vestibule that controls visitor access through a single entry point, a security requirement Texas imposed on all public school campuses after the 2022 Uvalde shooting. Principal Virginia Parker said all public engagement activities at Schenck will now take place in a dedicated community room near that front entrance — the first of its kind in SAISD. The room is expected to host PTA meetings, advisory council gatherings, and family meetings with staff.
Balancing Security With a Space to Gather
Patti Salzmann, the SAISD deputy superintendent overseeing bond progress and infrastructure projects, said schools have to balance child safety with spaces where families can still meet and connect, per the district report cited by San Antonio Report. The community room concept at Schenck is designed to carry over to other SAISD schools currently undergoing renovation. Roughly 90 percent of enrolled families turned out for Meet the Teacher on Monday, ahead of the first day of school.
Sandra Pacheco, a special education assistant who has worked for SAISD for 26 years, was among the staff greeting students as teachers directed them to the cafeteria during morning drop-off. Parent Vanessa Pineda, who has a 10-year-old son and an 8-year-old daughter, was among the Highland Hills families returning to the rebuilt school. Fifth-grader Nevaeh Gonzales attended her first day at the new building, while her sibling Jace Gonzales, starting third grade, said he was looking forward to being upstairs with his sister and cousin. Kathy Garcia, whose children have attended Schenck over the years, was also on hand for the reopening.
Named for a Longtime San Antonio Educator
Schenck Elementary was named in 1954 in honor of Kate Schenck, and the campus has served the Highland Hills community for seven decades. SAISD elementary campuses typically enroll between 300 and 500 students, which makes Schenck's 764-student roster an outlier — a direct result of the district's ongoing consolidation strategy following years of declining enrollment districtwide.
That consolidation trend accelerated in November 2023, when SAISD trustees voted to close 15 elementary and middle schools starting the following school year, according to Hoodline's prior coverage of the district's finances. Families from shuttered neighborhood campuses were folded into larger, modernized schools like Schenck, swelling its enrollment well beyond the district norm. The rebuild itself was funded through SAISD's record $1.3 billion bond package, approved by voters in November 2020 and aimed at overhauling 36 campuses without raising local tax rates.
New Building, Same Budget Pressure
Schenck's shiny new classrooms sit against a starker financial backdrop for SAISD. District leaders projected a $46 million operating deficit for the 2026–2027 fiscal year, prompting proposals to eliminate around 220 central office and campus positions. In February, district leaders also unveiled a strategic vision called “A New Way Forward,” which calls for shrinking SAISD's footprint from more than 80 campuses down to roughly 50 larger, fully modernized facilities.
Construction at Schenck isn't finished yet, either. State filings show an $250,000 project underway to add an 11,320-square-foot two-story classroom annex connected to the main building, with completion estimated for August 2027. SAISD has scheduled a public ribbon-cutting ceremony and community campus tour for the reopened school on September 2, giving Southside families a formal chance to walk through the new building and community spaces together.
