SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Independent School District has been assessing the needs across its 90 campuses and has identified 43 campuses that need major upgrades.
The upgrades will cost the district more than $2 billion, according to SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez. His plan is to ask voters to approve a 2020 bond in November, which will cost roughly $1.25 billion.
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“Many of our buildings are more than 50 years old. Many of them haven’t had work in the last 30 years,” Martinez said.
The district seeks to accomplish the following things with the bond funds: upgrade technology, safety and security and update broken air conditioning systems.
The funds from the 2020 bond would take cover the cost for more than 20 of the district’s campuses.
Martinez said if all goes well, the district will ask voters to approve a second bond for about the same amount in 2024 to take care of the repairs to the remaining schools.
All 43 schools needed major upgrades would be revamped by 2030 if the district gets the funds needed.
The bond would not seek a tax increase. Martinez said the current boom in downtown development and the normal property valuation increases would be enough to support the bond.
“These are children that — many of them live in poverty,” Martinez said. “We want our schools not to reflect their poverty. We want them to walk into beautiful classrooms.”
Martinez said he owes it to the students and teachers who have worked hard to raise the district’s rating from an F to a B in four years.
The district will select 24 community members, three from each of the seven districts, and three superintendent picks, to serve in the bond committee. The members will tour the schools and come up with recommendations for the board by this summer.