The San Antonio Independent School District hosted a team of realtor consultants the first week of June to get expert advice on how to repurpose the 13 school buildings left vacant by the district’s rightsizing plan.
The consultants were provided through a grant from the National Association of Realtors. According to the consultant’s preliminary report, the team of five consultants spent the week reviewing data, touring schools and neighborhoods, and interviewing people.
They recommend the district get community input on the best use of the empty building for their neighborhood and said the entire process from planning to occupancy could take over a year.
The consultants also recommended organizing buildings by potential use, including district use and third-party uses, with potential uses ranging from a city-run early childhood centers to job training, health care, housing or fresh food markets.
“Be future oriented. Not just what is here, or what was here, but what’s going to be here,” Monica Parikh, one of the members of the consulting team recommended in an SAISD news release.
“Your mission is in education, and we want to be able to help you manage the real estate in a way that is not taking away from your mission so you can focus on your priority of educating students,” Jacqueline Buhn, the consultant team leader said in the release.
The team presented their preliminary report to SAISD’s repurposing committee last week and will submit a complete report in 60 days.
SAISD trustees voted to close 15 schools in November 2023. Two of the 15 campuses closed for rightsizing will still be in use next school year as the district completes renovations at other campuses.
