SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino speaks during a November board meeting on the land-sale deal between the district and real estate developer Weston Urban. Credit: Michael Karlis

After a two-day shutdown prompted by inclement weather, San Antonio ISD will reopen all campuses Thursday, district officials told the Current.

SAISD joined most other Alamo City school districts Tuesday in calling off classes due to the winter storm. However, SAISD was the only large district to also cancel classes Wednesday.

The district said Wednesday’s closure was to ensure student safety. Wednesday’s below-freezing temperatures posed dangers to “those walking or waiting at bus stops early in the morning,” the district said.

However, some parents commenting online suggested the real reasoning behind SAISD’s Wednesday cancellation came down to its ongoing heating system and HVAC issues.

“Tell me your heating system doesn’t work without telling me your heating systems don’t work,” Facebook user Crispin Cortiz commented on SAISD’s post about the cancellation.

SAISD Chief Communications Officer Laura Short told the Current via email that district heating systems “held well” Wednesday, adding that campuses are ready to welcome students back Thursday.

Speculation about SAISD’s decision to cancel school Wednesday comes weeks after HVAC systems at six of the district’s campuses experienced failures, requiring students to be relocated to portions of buildings that still had heat.

A year prior, SAISD was forced to close all campuses for two days over what Superintendent Jaime Aquino described as “significant heating system failures.”

A 38-page report released last may attributed the 2023 HVAC failures to 20 years of mismanagement and inadequate upkeep.

Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter| Or sign up for our RSS Feed

Related Stories

This article appears in Jan 22 – Feb 4, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...