SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Independent School District is under scrutiny after they canceled classes for a second day due to freezing temperatures, while other major Bexar County districts reopened on Wednesday.
This move has raised questions among parents, especially considering the district’s ongoing challenges with maintaining warm classrooms during cold weather.
Before a district board meeting on Wednesday, SAISD Deputy Superintendent Patti Salzmann acknowledged faulty HVAC systems were one of the reasons for Wednesday’s closures in an interview with KSAT.
“It’s (heating and HVAC systems) not the only factor,” Salzmann said. “The temperature differential is one. The extremely low temperatures are certainly a consideration because they do cause our systems to work a little harder. The fact that we have quite a few — over 8,000 — bus riders is also a significant factor."
Some parents voiced their frustration and confusion over the decision, with many questioning why SAISD was shutting down schools again, mainly when all other major districts in the area, at a minimum, only had delays.
“I just really didn’t understand why it was going to be canceled,” Alizabeth Martinez, an SAISD parent, said.
The district has previously faced criticism for its infrastructure struggles, especially regarding its HVAC systems.
On Jan. 17, 2024, SAISD experienced “systemic failures” in its heating system, leading to the temporary closure of 98 schools because classrooms could not maintain adequate temperatures.
Aquino sent parents a letter apologizing for last year’s situation, in which he stated, “We have failed our students, staff, and community by not having accurate and reliable information.”
Despite efforts to prepare for the cold weather, the district cited safety concerns for students walking or waiting for buses as the reason for the closures on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, a district statement noted that while they had worked diligently to ready the facilities, “the age of some buildings presents unique challenges.”
Salzmann said Wednesday that she doesn’t believe the school district is downplaying its heating and HVAC problems.
“I think we’ve been very open and transparent about our HVAC issues,” Salzmann said. “We are the only district that has so many buildings that are of significant age, well beyond what most architectural designers would have envisioned as the life span of a school building. So, we have schools that are approaching — or are over — 100 years (old)."
For parents, the repeated school closures have a significant impact. One parent, who asked to remain anonymous, expressed concern about the financial strain of missing work due to school closures.
“Even calling off a day disrupts the income, especially as a single mom who has to provide for her kids,” she said.
While this parent was not scheduled to work Wednesday, she said if she did, she would rely on friends and family for childcare, but she acknowledged that not all families have that luxury.
When asked whether they would prefer taking a financial hit to ensure their children are not in cold classrooms, many parents said they would choose to stay home. “I would rather miss work so she’s not cold,” said Martinez.
During the board meeting, Aquino apologized for the district’s decision to close schools on Wednesday.
“At the same time, I have received numerous messages of gratitude from families — I know the board as well — who supported our decision acknowledging the harsh conditions of this morning,“ Aquino said, in part.
Salzmann said Wednesday that getting a new chiller or boiler at a school could take more than a year.
“While we’ve been investing, and we’ve been making steady progress, we are by no means in a position to say all of our HVAC issues are taken care of,” Salzmann said, in part. “At the same time, we have made many of the improvements that were outlined in the after-action report. Our teams are much more responsive. We’re able to fix systems faster.”
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