In February, North East Independent School District decided to consolidate three school campuses by the end of the 2024-25 school year to reduce a looming budget deficit and languishing enrollment.

Months later, NEISD has now wrapped up the consolidation process and officials say the process has saved the district some money.

During a Nov. 10 school board meeting, NEISD financial analyst Susie Lackorn said the district saved more than $6.6 million in staffing costs by consolidating. This is about the amount it costs to pay nearly 100 full-time employees.

Teachers and staff from the affected campuses — Driscoll Middle School, Clear Spring Elementary School and Wilshire Elementary School — were not fired or laid off, Lackorn said. The district just didn’t have to hire as much as it usually does for a new school year.

“Everyone who wanted a job from one of the three schools has a job at the same or greater where they were,” she said.

Every school year, NEISD loses about 400 teachers on average to promotions, retirement or resignations, and consolidating seemed to have eased the hiring process for getting those positions filled.

Relocation of equipment and furniture from the closed schools to “receiver” campuses cost the district roughly $88,000, but it was a one-time expense, Lackorn said.

When NEISD’s board voted to approve consolidation, the district was facing a $39 million deficit. In June, the district projected to have an $18 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year.

Part of the consolidation process included moving the North East Alternative Center (NEAC) to 4311 Clear Spring, formerly Clear Spring Elementary, and the North East Transition Services (NETS) department to 17150 Jones-Maltsberger, formerly Driscoll Middle School.

The Driscoll building also serves as a bus stop for middle school students enrolled in the district’s magnet school programs. During the same Monday meeting, the board approved a lease agreement for the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) to use part of the Driscoll property.

AACOG officials declined to comment on how it will be using the property because it’s still in negotiations.

Wilshire Elementary now houses part of the district’s police force, one sergeant and 11 police officers, along with the security and safety department.

The properties that used to house NAEC and NETS, 103 W. Rampart and 8438 Ahern Drive respectively, are now for sale. NEISD “has no future plans of need for the properties,” officials said.

Charter schools located wholly or partially within the district’s boundaries will be given priority over other entities when submitting purchasing bids, according to a September resolution approved by the board.

The properties that used to house the North East Alternative Education Center and the Transition Services Department at 103 W. Rampart and 8438 Ahern Drive are now on the market. Credit: Courtesy of North East ISD

Adjacent to each other, the 103 W. Rampart property is a 4.581-acre tract of “real property and improvements” valued at $6.4 million by the Bexar Central Appraisal District, and the 8438 Ahern Drive is about 0.204 acres valued at more than $7.4 million.

Students from the three consolidated campuses were either moved over to designated “receiver” schools or transferred elsewhere in the district using NEISD’s school choice application.

NEISD shared the “final” consolidation update in August, where Communications Director Aubrey Chancellor said the district processed more than 300 school choice applications, adding that all furniture, equipment and curriculum materials had been transferred to the absorbing campuses.

Title I funds Wilshire was granted for having a large low-income student population were redistributed across the district’s other Title I campuses.

To make up for the additional support Wilshire students had received, NEISD placed an extra family support staff member on Northwood’s campus.

Board President David Beyer said Monday’s savings update essentially closed the book on the consolidation of Driscoll, Wilshire and Clear Spring schools, putting a “proverbial bow on the whole process.”