By: Maddy Stokes
San Antonio, Texas, has been a hotspot for population growth since 2014. Not only is the city growing at a rate of 1.25% annually (1), but its surrounding areas are some of the fastest growing in the country. Comal County, for example, came in at number seven in the nation’s top ten fastest-growing counties (2). San Antonio and its primary education (K-12) owners are facing a unique set of challenges, and those challenges depend on where they are located geographically in the city. In conversation with our CEO, Wade Cleary, who has sat on numerous educational boards, has 18 years of experience in the engineering industry, and has worked with local school districts throughout his career, he and I have identified several themes affecting San Antonio area K-12 owners.
While there is a wide range of challenges facing K-12 owners, we narrowed our list down to five main themes that we have observed as industry professionals external to the school districts, and is not intended to take a political stance.
1. Influx of Population
As addressed in the previous section, the San Antonio area is growing. District leadership can barely keep up with the demand for new schools in places like Comal and Medina counties (both are surrounding counties of San Antonio and part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area). As of July 2024, Comal ISD, located in Comal County, predicts a growth of 10,000 more students by 2033 (3). Similarly, Medina Valley ISD, located in Medina County, is expected to see population growth of an additional 53% in the next 10 years (4). Both districts are playing “catch up” when it comes to providing additional schools for overcrowding at their current campuses, but the areas they serve are only slated to get bigger.
2. Abundance of Options
With growth comes options. As San Antonio’s population continues to rise, so does the choice parents have of where their child will attend school. Private schools have long been an alternative to traditional school districts, but the rise of charter schools within the last 20 years has led to a large competition with traditional public schools within the metropolitan area, with thousands of local parents already opting to exercise school choice (5). This movement towards charter schools within the last five years has also impacted some public school districts’ 10-year projections. Many districts that initially projected growth are now seeing those numbers flatten out. This change and miscalculation affect funding and available resources for these districts.
While Comal ISD struggles to build fast enough to meet demand, districts like San Antonio ISD are struggling to fill seats. San Antonio ISD is just one district affected by the rise of charter schools, population migration, and potential proposed legislation (more on that later). In late 2023, San Antonio ISD’s school board voted to close or merge 15% of its schools (6). The recommendation to close certain schools was based on an analysis of student enrollment, facility usage, and cost per student. This drop in student enrollment could be attributed to a few reasons, such as the change in district demographics (declining birthrates) or parents exploring other educational opportunities.
3. Funding
Texas public schools can receive funding mainly through two sources: property taxes and state funds (7). Charter schools primarily receive funding from the state, while private schools receive funding through tuition, endowments, and fundraisers. To help public schools determine budgets for the year, students enrolled in public schools across the state are given a “base number” or basic allotment per student to determine the amount of funding each district receives based on how many students are enrolled. To fund these budgets for the year, public school districts first use their property tax revenue for their district, and then the state pays the remaining balance that was determined by the basic allotment of total students. Typically, taxpayers for each district cover about 64% of the bill (7), more than half of the funds required by the district.
Tax rates are split into two different buckets: Maintenance and Operations (M&O) and Interest and Shrinking (I&S). Depending on an area’s location, property value, and property tax rate, budgets, and available funding can look vastly different for each district. Some districts have a surplus of money, which goes back to the state once they have reached their allotted budget, while others are struggling to meet their projected budget. The state also determines a minimum and maximum tax rate for schools to tax their property owners.
San Antonio has historically been one of the most economically segregated cities in the United States (8). That means that people of similar economic stature tend to live near each other or within the same neighborhoods. Since 64% of school funds come from property tax, the amount collected can vary between districts depending on the value of property in the district and the property tax rate. This disparity, in turn, determines the amount of funding each district has available (and how much money they can ask for from the state).
If you would like a more in-depth explanation of how school funding works, I recommend checking out this video by Raise Your Hand Texas (13): https://youtu.be/1Q234YtfyXM?si=9AG8vjOEIpaRhPSu
4. Legislation and School Bonds
There has been a lot of new legislation for public schools in Texas in the past couple of years. Though several new items of legislation could potentially be a challenge for K-12 owners and districts, for the sake of time and this article, I am only considering the legislation as it relates to school bonds.
School bonds are a form of funding that district voters help determine and finance. Bonds appear on the voting ballot and are usually proposed to help with issues such as aging facilities, population growth, and technology upgrades. School bonds preapprove money for school projects and are voted on by voters in a specific district. When voters approve school bonds, they are allowing the district to take on debt to fund bigger projects for the district (9). Once the bond is approved, the district can sell bonds to receive the money. School bonds are on the ballot almost every election cycle, and the voters decide if they want to fund the money for the bonds. Though many school bonds pass, K-12 owners must rely on earning sufficient votes to pass bonds to fund necessary projects.
New legislation passed requiring school bonds to be separated based on purpose (10). Technology and athletic upgrades must be in different bond packages so voters can vote on the programs they want to fund. Voters can vote for one proposition that contains updates to athletic facilities for one high school campus and not vote for upgrades to the technology around multiple campuses. Overall, splitting up the types of bonds can result in districts only receiving sufficient funds to complete some, not all, or their proposed project.
5. CTE / Magnet Programs
Within Texas Public Schools, Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs or “magnet” programs initially started as an introduction and training into technical industries and have since evolved into specific, career-focused learning. Public schools throughout San Antonio have a wide variety of programs that draw students from all over the city to various schools and districts, hence the term “magnet”. You can find a list of these programs across the state here (14). These programs can attract students from both in-district and out of district. The San Antonio area boasts numerous magnet programs across public school districts, with programs specializing in cyber security, the electrical trade, construction, and even agriculture. Magnet programs grow the city’s talent pool by helping train and nurture students’ interest in these subjects and can also diversify the student population on campus.
For K-12 owners, this could present both a challenge and an opportunity. If a popular magnet program pulls students away from their districts, they could lose the projected number of students they had initially planned and budgeted for, affecting the money they receive from the state. Students in magnet school programs also tend to score higher on science, reading, and social studies exams than students in regular public schools (12). K-12 owners want their students to test well; when schools/districts have a good reputation and test scores, more people want to be in that district and will pay the money to do so, which is reflected in property value, which, as we know from earlier sections, affects the funding.
For example, North East ISD recently opened a cyber security magnet program for students because of the city’s growing cyber security industry. The program is free and available to all students regardless of their school district. The program provides students with hands-on experience with advanced cyber security tools, access to industry certifications, and internship opportunities (15). This program can provide San Antonio with potential/future cyber security employees with experience in the field, help grow the city’s cyber security industry, and provide jobs to residents.
Conclusion
As you can see, the San Antonio K-12 sector is in a unique position of growth. As the city continues to grow, its school districts will continue to face various challenges and opportunities associated with the growth. K-12 owners may have to adapt to some of the situations presented above. San Antonio is in a transitional stage, and as this era continues, it will be interesting to see how school owners will continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve.
Worked Cited:
(1) “San Antonio, Texas Population 2024.” Worldpopulationreview.com, 2024, worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/texas/san-antonio.
(2) Johnson, Steven Ross. “These Are the 10 Fastest-Growing Counties in the U.S.” US News and World Report, US News and World Report, 18 Mar. 2024, www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/slideshows/fastest-growing-counties-in-america?onepage. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
(3) Wilson, Erica. “Superintendent Addresses Comal ISD’s Growth, Financial Challenges.” Herald-Zeitung.com, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung, 31 July 2024, herald-zeitung.com/news/superintendent-addresses-comal-isd-s-growth-financial-challenges/article_6f5bc14c-4f7d-11ef-bbd7-bf1fa7b17340.html#:~:text=Come%20Aug.,behind%20Northside%20ISD%2C%20Chapman%20said. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
(4) Biediger, Shari, and Isaac Windes. “Rapid Westside Growth Leads to Rezoning “Domino Effect” in Medina Valley ISD.” San Antonio Report, San Antonio Report, 10 Mar. 2024, sanantonioreport.org/bexar-county-growth-medina-valley-isd-rezoning/. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
(5) Medina, Mariah. “Thousands Already Exercising School Choice across San Antonio.” WOAI, 2022, news4sanantonio.com/news/local/thousands-already-exercising-school-choice-across-san-antonio. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
(6) Report, Isaac Windes, San Antonio. “San Antonio ISD Will Close or Merge about 15% of Its Schools for “Academic and Financial Sustainability.”” The Texas Tribune, 14 Nov. 2023, www.texastribune.org/2023/11/14/san-antonio-isd-school-closures/.
(7) Swaby, Aliyya. “Texas’ School Finance System Is Unpopular and Complex. Here’s How It Works.” The Texas Tribune, Texas Tribune, 15 Feb. 2019, www.texastribune.org/2019/02/15/texas-school-funding-how-it-works/. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024.
(8) The Rivard Report Staff. “Disconnected: Economic Segregation in San Antonio.” San Antonio Report, sanantonioreport.org/disconnected/#:~:text=San%20Antonio%20has%20long%20been.
(9) Keller, Myra Arthur, Valerie Gomez, William Caldera, Dale L. “How Are School Bond Projects Paid For? KSAT Explains.” KSAT, 2 May 2023, www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/05/02/how-are-school-bond-projects-paid-for-ksat-explains/.
(10) Bickerstaff Heath Delgado Acosta LLP. “86th Legislative Session Summary – New Ballot Language Requirements for School District Bond Elections .” Bickerstaff.com 86th Legislative Session Summary , Bickerstaff.com.
(11) Folkes, Amelia. “CTE in Texas: The Intersection of School Choice and Career Readiness.” Raise Your Hand Texas, Raise Your Hand Texas , 7 July 2023, www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/cte-provides-school-choice/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
(12) “San Antonio Region – Magnets and Academies – We Go Public.” We Go Public, 22 Feb. 2024, www.wegopublic.com/san-antonio-school-districts/magnet-academies/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
(13) “- YouTube.” Youtu.be, 2024, youtu.be/1Q234YtfyXM?si=9AG8vjOEIpaRhPSu. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
(14) “List of School Districts in Texas with Magnet Schools/Programs.” Txparentsunion.org, WordPress.com, 4 Sept. 2016, txparentsunion.org/resources/tx-districts-with-magnet-schools/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
(15) “About the Program / FAQs at ICSI.” Neisd.net, 2024, www.neisd.net/Page/31053. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
