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The San Antonio Independent School District is eliminating several central office positions as part of an ongoing effort to reduce spending.
In a statement, SAISD officials said the cuts will reduce the district’s budget by $17 million next year, helping it with a “$51 million structural deficit.”
“We are starting by eliminating nonessential vacancies and working closely with staff whose positions will no longer exist next school year. Affected employees were notified on Friday, and we will begin interviewing them for open positions within the district later this month. We anticipate that most will be absorbed through attrition,” the statement said.
The statement didn’t say how many central office positions are being eliminated. SAISD Spokesperson Laura Short did not respond to TPR's request for more details.
SAISD officials said employees affected by the cuts will be given the first opportunity to interview for essential vacant positions at central office.
The district also didn’t say what types of positions were being eliminated from central office, but some of them may be tasked with creating curriculum. The statement said SAISD was ‘transitioning to purchased curriculum instead of developing it internally.”
“Since 2022-23, we have consistently reduced central office expenses to protect classrooms. Including the reductions planned for next year, we will have identified a total of $45 million in central office cuts. While these decisions are difficult, they are necessary to ensure the district’s long-term financial sustainability,” the statement said.
Several San Antonio school districts, including SAISD and North East ISD, have shrunk the size of their central office in recent years as part of their efforts to reduce their budget deficits.
SAISD officials said they were committing to eliminating the district's $51 million structural deficit over the next three years. They added that they used three guiding principles to form next year's budget: "protecting classrooms and schools as much as possible," "retaining as many dedicated staff members as we can," and "increasing staff compensation to help offset the impact of inflation."
