![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SAISDFoundation_StateOfTheDistrict_StudentAdvisoryCommittee_05_02.10.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
San Antonio City Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks during a San Antonio ISD \u201cState of the District\u201d event Feb. 10. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\nJazz band, lunch periods and passing math tests. These are things San Antonio Independent School District students said they like about going to school during an\u201dState of the District\u201d event on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Held every other year, the room was packed with district leaders, city council members, state representatives and current students, all gathered to learn and share what\u2019s going on at SAISD: the wins, the challenges and plans for the future.<\/p>\n
At times celebratory, at times pessimistic, the event was a sort of appeal for local leaders to get more involved in public education. It also unveiled SAISD\u2019s plan for dealing with outdated and under-enrolled campuses.<\/p>\n
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, who ran on supporting traditional public school in San Antonio, said SAISD was a \u201cvery special district\u201d which deserved more attention from the community. <\/p>\n
SAISD is San Antonio\u2019s oldest and most central school district, founded 125 years ago and serving some of the city\u2019s most underserved communities. Jones tied the district\u2019s outcomes to the city\u2019s outcomes in terms of workforce development, affordable housing and business development. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no future of our city without a strong SAISD,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt\u2019s not impossible that SAISD could be gone within a generation\u2026 It is not impossible that SAISD would cease to exist if we do not step in.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Antonio City Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks during a San Antonio ISD \u201cState of the District\u201d event Feb. 10. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
SAISD by the numbers<\/p>\n
SAISD is the third largest district in San Antonio, operating more than 80 campuses and serving about 44,000 students across 79 square miles.<\/p>\n
For the 2024-25 school year, the district received a C-rating from the state, a small improvement from the previous year. <\/p>\n
During Tuesday\u2019s event, Superintendent Jaime Aquino celebrated that nearly two-thirds of SAISD campuses have a passing academic rating from the state; 30 campuses have an A or B and 19 received C ratings.<\/p>\n
Last year, 18 campuses received failing ratings for the third consecutive year, making them \u201cpriority\u201d campuses requiring turnaround plans. Getting a failing score for a fourth year could open the district up to state intervention.<\/p>\n
In January, SAISD decided to close one of those campuses<\/a> because it was under enrolled and projected to receive another failing rating from the state, a first of the district\u2019s rightsizing efforts.<\/p>\n Still, Aquino is optimistic despite the high number of failing campuses \u2014 20 campuses are only one point away from getting a higher letter grade, he said. And students are adapting to increasingly rigorous state standards and still recovering from the COVID-19 shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time this year since the pandemic, we have more students reading on grade level than we had prior to the pandemic,\u201d Aquino said. \u201cThis is in a much more rigorous state assessment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Aquino also pointed to SAISD\u2019s 7,000 out-of-district students as indication that the district is headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are suffering from declining enrollment, however we lead the region in the number of students who come outside SAISD\u2019s boundaries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Declining enrollment and rising costs in recent years has led to a budget deficit of approximately $46 million for SAISD, as well as other districts in the city.<\/p>\n Challenges and bright spots<\/p>\n SAISD faces several challenges because of its century-old age and size.<\/p>\n Similar to most school districts in San Antonio, student enrollment at SAISD has steadily decreased in recent years as birth rates decline, more charter schools pop up and populations shift outward.<\/p>\n These factors led to mass school closures in 2023<\/a> and under-enrolled campuses too expensive to maintain, since funding is based on enrollment.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SAISDFoundation_StateOfTheDistrict_StudentAdvisoryCommittee_07_02.10.2026_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
SAISD district officials laid out plans for the future during a \u201cState of the District\u201d event Feb. 10. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n