SAN ANTONIO – In February, the North East Independent School District announced three of its campuses would be consolidated.
The district’s board of trustees voted on the decision 7-0, with the district citing declining enrollment and increased expenses due to inflation.
The affected schools were Wilshire Elementary, Clear Spring Elementary, and Driscoll Middle School.
Now, before summer, some parents are reacting to the news of school closures.
Maura Rodriguez is a mom of four children, two of whom graduated from Clear Spring Elementary, and one student is still attending.
Seven years ago, she bought a house across the street from campus specifically for the education she wanted her family to have.
“We wanted to make sure that we could actually keep an eye on them. You can’t beat that, you know, your child is at recess and you can come outside and see them,” she said. “So you know their safety is my number one priority here.”
When she first learned NEISD was considering a closure back in December 2024, Rodriguez says she and other parents were shocked and saddened.
“Everything was great. It’s a community school, and that’s why it’s sad; it was literally named for the neighborhood and vice versa,” Rodriguez said. ” It’s like they’re breaking up a family.”
After attending board meetings, signing petitions, and working to organize with other parents, Rodriguez is now unsure of what to do with her children’s educational future. While they have been reassigned to Serna Elementary School, she says her family is uncomfortable with the area surrounding it.
“We’ve been looking into private, we’ve been looking into even charter schools. Same thing, you have to pay tuition for charter schools. I’m like, I don’t know, we’ve got four kids, so it adds up,” she said.
Rodriguez says what she’ll miss most of all isn’t the building or the classrooms her kids spent their time in, but the teachers who made every day special.
“I mean, everybody, all the teachers, all the staff, the coaches, everybody, even. After our children graduated, they were still taking a personal interest. ‘How are the girls doing at their new school? Are they doing okay?’ It’s just a personal relationship that you have here that I don’t know if we’re going to get anywhere else.”
Students at the affected schools will be sent to other schools across the district.
Driscoll students will move to Garner and Harris
Wilshire students will move to Northwood and East Terrell Hills
Clear Spring students will move to El Dorado, Serna and Royal Ridge.
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