9-21-21 LNA General Meeting
| 3. SAISD Bond Update/Burnet – Sarah Sorensen | There is movement at the Burnet campus to serve the needs of Bohnam Academy as it continues to grow. They’ll be seeking community input for design, taking into consideration the culture of the community and culture of the schoolTentative meeting date of Oct. 14, which will focus on all D1 bond projects. It will be in-person with remote options. Final details will beThey appointed an interim superintendent, Robert Jecklitch, to replace Pedro Martinez who is moving to Chicago.For questions, contact Sarah Sorensen at ssorensen1@saisd.net |
9-15-2020 General Meeting via Zoom:
| SAISD Bond | What is happening with the bond and how will it impact the neighborhood? – Steve is the school board member who represents the neighborhood. He’s been on the board for the last 7 years. – For the last 40 years, the district, until 2010, had not had a long term facilities plan. Funding came from individual donors. In 2010, decisions were made that we needed to engage in a long-term facilities plan because so many of the buildings in SAISD were deteriorating. There was a 2010 bond, and 2016 bond, and they’re proposing a 2020 bond. – In December 2019, as a school district, they appointed a blue ribbon task force with the plan that the task force would evaluate the schools in the most need, fixing the worst problems, completing the bonds, and addressing enrollments needs. – Because of COVID, they were unable to make as many rounds to neighborhood associations as originally intended. – They want to increase enrollment and sustain enrollment. – Bonham is one of the best schools in the district. It is overcrowded. – Burnet, which currently serves as a de facto office space, will be vacant by April next year. The question is what could the Burnet center look like if they were to reactivate the building as a school? – First step is it would have to be placed in the bond, second step is that it will have to pass, third step is that district will determine (with community involvement) the best use of the space. – When the community votes for our president in November, we can vote for the SAISD bond for $1.3 billion. Even if approved, our property taxes will not be raised. It is being paid for by the taxes on all of the new developments downtown. – If the bond is approved, all of the SAISD buildings would get upgraded technology. – His Commitments: o It will be a school that serves the neighborhood of Lavaca o It will be a neighborhood school run by the school district. – One possibility is expand Bonham’s elementary school into a middle school at the Burnet building. Both buildings would be managed by SAISD and handled by the Bonham principal. – By expanding Bonham’s capacity, it would be possible to extend the school lines to south Lavaca, which is currently zoned to attend Green. – They want this to be a partnership effort with the community to determine the best use of the space for Burnet. – The idea is that if they remove middle school grades from the St. Mary’s campus, they can add Pre-K to Bonham, and then expand enrollment zones to south Lavaca. By having more capacity at every grade level, they can expand enrollment to all of Lavaca. – What happens to Green if enrollment is changed to Bonham? Answer. They can re-imagine Green. It falls just under the cutoff threshold for buildings that need the most renovation right now. It can be modified in a subsequent bond. Steve’s contact information: Feel free to contact me any time: 210-289-3303 or steveforeducation@gmail.com |