\u201cWe spent a lot of time wrestling with what is right for our students,\u201d said Board President Alicia Sebastian before voting. \u201cOur district has been underfunded, probably since its inception, which has come with many challenges on how we deliver instruction to our most vulnerable students.\u201d<\/p>\n
While district leaders have hinted at needing to close more schools in the future, even suggesting plans of tearing Rhodes and Carvajal down to build a new state-of-the-art academy when only Carvajal was on the chopping block, they didn\u2019t publicly announce they were considering shuttering Rhodes until last week<\/a>. This only gave families a week\u2019s notice before the official vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Monday, SAISD trustees voted 5-2 to close Rhodes, immediately drawing backlash from the crowded room, full of parents and staff who showed up to speak against the closure. Trustees Jacob Ramos and Stephanie Torres were the \u201cno\u201d votes.<\/p>\n District leaders cited similar reasons for closing Carvajal and Rhodes: low enrollment and projected failing academic ratings at the end of the 2025-26 school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the latest round of school ratings, 18 SAISD campuses got failing ratings for the third time in a row. If even one campus gets another bad grade for a fourth consecutive year, SAISD could be subject to state probing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Getting a failing grade five years in a row requires state takeover, which can mean forcing a school closure, letting an outside group take over the school with a \u201cturnaround\u201d plan or replacing a district\u2019s board and superintendent with state-appointed leaders.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even though SAISD is expecting most of its \u201cpriority\u201d campuses to earn improved ratings this year, a handful of campuses like Rhodes and Carvajal are projected to get yet another failing rating.\u00a0<\/p>\n If SAISD\u2019s board hadn\u2019t approved the middle school\u2019s closure, they likely would have allowed Third Future Schools, a nonprofit charter school known for its turnaround model, to take over Rhodes.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany of these schools have had multiple years of academically unacceptable performance, and what saved several of them was during COVID there was a year that many schools got a C-rating, which reset the clock,\u201d said Deputy Superintendent Shawn Bird. \u201cIt has been a problem for many years, and we have to reverse that trajectory for our students.\u201d<\/p>\n What happens next? <\/p>\n Rhodes first opened its doors in 1954 and over 96% of students are considered economically disadvantaged, according to state data. <\/p>\n The school still has an allocated $47.4 million in unspent 2020 bond dollars, but current cost estimates put campus renovations $19 million over budget. The school is also under-enrolled, serving 391 students at a campus with capacity for 717.\u00a0<\/p>\n Without taking academics into account, the district was still spending too much money to keep the campus running, since public school funding is based on enrollment and attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rhodes students will be transferred over to Tafolla Middle School, roughly two miles away, but students can apply to enroll anywhere in the district through SAISD\u2019s school choice program. This program had a priority deadline of Feb. 16, but the district\u2019s website says families can still apply and be added to waitlists.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bird said the office of access and enrollment will work with Rhodes families and proactively reach out to them in case they don\u2019t want to attend Tafolla.<\/p>\n On top of offering the usual electives and programs, Rhodes had a large fine arts program, including marching, concert and jazz band, ballet folklorico, mariachi and visual arts. It was also known for having a strong technology focus with robotics and gaming programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tearing down Rhodes and neighboring Carvajal, which also has millions in unspent bond funds, to build one big pre-K to 8 academy would be the most cost-effective option, district leaders say. This would also mark a start to SAISD\u2019s \u201cnew way forward<\/a>\u201d plan, which entails tearing down the district\u2019s many outdated buildings, building modern learning hubs and potentially asking voters to pass another bond.\u00a0<\/p>\n Currently operating around 80 buildings, Superintendent Jaime Aquino has several times said the district should have closer to 50 based on enrollment. But most of those buildings wouldn\u2019t have the capacity to host various student programs or meet required standards that came about years after several of SAISD\u2019s facilities were built.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s part of the reason why doing a mass \u201crightsizing\u201d process like SAISD did in 2023<\/a> is not in the cards right now, officials say.\u00a0<\/p>\n Third-party administrator to operate 3 SAISD schools<\/p>\n When students go to Tafolla on the first day of school for the 2026-27 school year, the school will be very different than it was before.<\/p>\n Right after the board voted to close Rhodes, the board approved to enter into a contract with charter school operator Third Future Schools to take over three community schools, including Tafolla Middle School, Hirsh Elementary School and Ogden Elementary School, all campuses that have gotten failing ratings three years in a row.<\/p>\n That motion passed 5-2 with Ramos and Torres voting against the decision.<\/p>\n The lucrative partnership would draw down thousands in additional state funds<\/a> for each campus under what\u2019s known as an 1882 partnership. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n These partnerships, created under Senate Bill 1882 in 2017, allow school districts to partner with education nonprofits, charter operators and public universities to implement innovative models or turn around a campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n SAISD is the largest 1882 partner district in the state, with over 20 partnerships meant to breed innovation and draw down more funding for specialized resources at those campuses.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SAISDFoundation_Mariachi_03_09.16.2025_AmberEsparza.jpg.jpg\")
SAISD\u2019s Rhodes Middle School mariachi performs during the SAISD Foundation\u2019s inaugural \u201cA Night of Music. A Legacy of Culture\u201d event at Legacy park on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_6333.jpg\")
SAISD families protest Third Future Schools moving into failing schools to turn them around during a March 23 school board meeting. Credit: Xochilt Garcia \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n