{"id":986531,"date":"2026-08-07T10:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/986531\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T10:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T10:19:15","slug":"spurs-arena-ready-to-work-and-pre-k-4-sa-could-end-up-on-november-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/986531\/","title":{"rendered":"Spurs arena, Ready to Work and Pre-K 4 SA could end up on November ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 The San Antonio City Council is set to discuss putting funding for three familiar issues back on city voters\u2019 November ballot next week. <\/p>\n

At the request of a group of four council members, the council is already scheduled to discuss an early reauthorization vote to fund the early education program Pre-K 4 SA at its Aug. 13 meeting. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones ordered additional discussion on that day for two more possible ballot propositions: the city\u2019s $489 million share of Spurs arena funding and the diversion of the remaining funds from the Ready to Work job training program.<\/p>\n

Council members must act by Aug. 17 to get any of the items onto the November ballot for city voters to ultimately decide their fate.<\/p>\n

The Aug. 13 meeting is the same day city staff plan to present a proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year. <\/p>\n

Pre-K 4 SA <\/p>\n

Voters first approved the use of a 1\/8 cent sales tax to fund the early education program in 2012, and then reauthorized if for another eight years in 2020.<\/p>\n

The current authorization won\u2019t run out until 2029, but Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), Edward Mungia (D4), Ric Galvan (D6), and Ivalis Meza Gonzalez (D8) filed memos on July 28 and Aug. 4 to force an early reauthorization vote \u2014 this time, for 20 years. <\/p>\n

\u201cActing now provides the certainty needed for thoughtful long-term planning,\u201d they wrote in their initial memo. \u201cEarly childhood education requires sustained investment, workforce development, partnerships, and strategic decision-making that cannot be effectively achieved on a compressed timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council members wrote in their initial memo they had coordinated their request with Jones.<\/p>\n

Spurs arena<\/p>\n

A new downtown NBA arena is expected to cost $1.3 billion, split among the Spurs, the City of San Antonio, and Bexar County.<\/p>\n

Voters across Bexar County already approved <\/a>the county\u2019s $311 million share of funding in a 52%-48% vote in November 2025.<\/p>\n

Though the $489 million city share of the funding doesn\u2019t require a similar public vote, Jones has called for holding one anyway, saying \u201csince they pay twice, City voters deserve to vote twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones had repeatedly suggested the idea in the lead up to the countywide vote, but appeared to go silent on the idea in the wake of the election<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The idea resurfaced in a July 31 memo to her colleagues, but a majority of council members<\/a> have already come out against the idea, saying last November\u2019s vote was sufficient. <\/p>\n

Despite that, the mayor is pushing ahead. Jones\u2019 call for an Aug. 13 council vote Thursday came hours before her first \u201clistening session\u201d<\/a> to get public comment on the idea.<\/p>\n

Ready to Work<\/p>\n

Voters approved the use of a 1\/8 cent sales tax amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to fund a job training program. <\/p>\n

But the program\u2019s actual goals were set lower than pre-election estimates<\/a>, and progress toward them has been slow. <\/p>\n

That tax expired at the beginning of 2026 after collecting $235.8 million. But more than half of that had yet to be spent at the end of May, according to the program dashboard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

City officials have said the program is expected to be wound down <\/a>by 2030.<\/p>\n

In a July 21 memo<\/a>, Jones raised the possibility of redirecting program funds toward projects originally meant to be funded through the city budget or the next bond program, citing the city\u2019s budget problems.<\/p>\n

Six days later, she sent another memo to council members claiming the city attorney had confirmed Ready to Work funds could potentially be used to pay for certain programs in the city budget, like literacy programs, afterschool programs, and early childhood education. <\/p>\n

In her Thursday email, Jones said the council would discuss a ballot question to divert remaining Ready to Work funds \u201ctoward qualified programs under the Better Jobs Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

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