SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jaime Aquino cited safety concerns for students walking to school or waiting at bus stops as the driving force behind the decision to keep campuses closed last month, even as other districts reopened.
But internal records obtained Tuesday by KSAT Investigates tell a much different story, as SAISD continues to grapple with heating and cooling infrastructure woes.
Records show 34 boilers at 21 SAISD campuses were offline or not operational the afternoon of Jan. 21, when the decision was made to keep campuses shuttered on Jan. 22.
The emails, released by the district Tuesday following a public records request from KSAT, detail concerns from parents about the low temperatures of classrooms throughout much of January and the frustration of campus administrators, including one who wrote that she had to develop a deep understanding of HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems.
Aquino in January 2024 blamed heating woes on human error and widespread system failures, as SAISD was forced to temporarily shutter its campuses that month.
Half a billion dollars to bring SAISD facilities up to industry standards
Aquino, in a letter stating that campuses would be open on Jan. 9, said a recent facility condition report noted that it would cost SAISD more than $584 million to bring its buildings up to industry standards.
He wrote that the district, despite facing a structural budget deficit, had taken several actions to handle inclement weather including insulating exterior pipes and purchasing hundreds of portable climate control units.
SAISD officials on Tuesday declined to make anyone from its operations team available for an interview.
The district had also not said as of Tuesday afternoon what it plans to do later this week when temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s.
‘A Brackenridge HS student just called the office crying because it is so cold on campus’
Text messages released to KSAT by the district earlier this month provide insight into the discomfort felt by staff and students on campus during cold weather days.
In a Jan. 9 text thread, a district official wrote, “A Brackenridge HS student just called the office crying because it is so cold on campus.”
The official added via text that the student wanted the school board to be aware.
In a separate text thread, after a parent contacted the media and said her child, a student at Edison High School, had not been allowed to plug in an electric blanket she brought from home, SAISD Deputy Superintendent Patti Salzmann responded that electric heating devices from home are not allowed.
After it was announced that the other school districts would re-open on Jan. 22, an SAISD employee confirmed via text that SAISD would remain closed and wrote, “It will be very cold in the morning until about 9 am and our systems are still very fragile.”
‘...Lack of consistent and transparent communication’
On Jan. 9, a staff member for San Antonio City Council District 1 reached out to SAISD inquiring about students needing to wear jackets in class because of heating issues at Will Rogers Academy, records show.
On Jan. 10, while addressing ongoing boiler concerns at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, its principal wrote a “lack of consistent and transparent communication” had contributed to confusion about the status of repairs at the Southeast Side campus.
“When we follow up with technicians, we often receive conflicting information about the repairs needed or completed, which sometimes doesn’t align with what was previously communicated by another technician,” the principal wrote.
The assistant principal at the same campus asked facilities staff via email days earlier what SAISD’s short-term and long-term solutions were to address the ongoing loss of heat at the school.
A custodial manager wrote on Jan. 16 that even though boilers at Jefferson High School were operational, temperatures in several rooms were still in the low 60s and 50s.
Multiple boilers at the Northwest Side high school were listed as “OFFLINE” five days later, records show.
SAISD’s senior executive director of school administration wrote on Jan. 17 that it was an “all hands on deck” situation for extreme weather changes that were predicted the following week.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.