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North East Independent School District parents concerned that the district may close their children’s schools attended the district’s board meeting Monday evening to make their fears known.
Jacob Villarreal has a daughter in kindergarten at Dellview Elementary and attended the school himself as a child. He told the board Dellview created a supportive environment for him after his mother died.
“I want you all to take a second and, for once, not think of these kids as just the statistics and numbers on a spreadsheet, but to think of them as the future leaders our planet needs, and how much Dellview means to them. To all of us,” Villarreal said.
Katie, a mom who gave only her first name, said Montgomery Elementary was the heart of her neighborhood.
“I have the privilege to be able to walk my kids to school every day, weather permitting. It's where my daughter got to be on the local news with our Fiesta float on Montgomery's 50th anniversary two years ago. It is our local voting location,” Katie said.
District officials have not yet made an official recommendation about which schools to close, but three elementary schools are currently under consideration: Dellview, Oakgrove and Montgomery.
Oakgrove would be consolidated into Regency Place Elementary, Montgomery would be consolidated into Windcrest Elementary, and Dellview would be consolidated into Colonial Hills Elementary.
During Monday’s board meeting, NEISD Superintendent Anthony Jarrett said the unfortunate reality is that the district can’t continue to lose students without closing more schools.
“Our reality is we can't sustain this and survive. And if you continue to compound debt, you put yourself in a position where the state will say you don't know how to handle your budget, so we'll do it for you,” Jarrett said. “And so, we're confronted with our new reality, and we're going to try to do this the most respectful and responsible way.”
NEISD officials estimate closing three elementary schools will save the district about $4 million a year. The projected savings come from a reduction in overhead costs from utilities and staffing. However, the district expects to achieve a reduction in staff without layoffs.
Teachers, principals, and other employees who don’t move to the consolidated schools will be offered positions at other NEISD schools left open by staff who quit or retired.
District leaders are holding community meetings at each of the three schools that could be closing this week — starting Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Oakgrove Elementary followed by Montgomery on Wednesday and Dellview on Thursday. All three meetings will begin at 6 p.m.
District leadership could bring an official recommendation for school closures to the board for a vote as early as November.
In September, NEISD officials identified 16 schools that met their criteria for possible closure but quickly clarified that only five of the 16 schools were under review.
Three of the five schools under review have now been identified for possible closure. The other two schools listed as under review — Regency Place and Colonial Hills — have now been identified as candidates to receive students from the closing schools.
The NEISD board of trustees previously voted to close three schools in 2025: Driscoll Middle School, Clear Spring Elementary and Wilshire Elementary. These schools were consolidated into other schools ahead of the 2025-2026 school year.
“Just to bring it back into perspective, we have shrunk by 17,000 kids since our peak,” NEISD Chief Financial Officer Susie Lackorn said Monday. “The three schools that we consolidated last time — that was roughly 1,000 kids.”
North East is San Antonio’s second-largest school district. About 51,000 students are currently enrolled in NEISD schools.
NEISD officials expect to revisit enrollment in September 2027 and once again weigh the need to close more schools.
