By Ryan Johnston
The sound of laughing children running around the playground at Travis Elementary may soon come to an end.
The San Antonio Independent School District has reported declines in its enrollment over the past decade and is considering closing six schools, including Travis.
Carmen Vasquez-Gonzalez, executive director of communication for SAISD, said at the moment, Travis only has 289 students and 63 percent of the building is being used.
If Travis is closed, the students will be placed in Beacon Hill, Cotton, Woodlawn elementaries or Austin Academy, she said.
The building would be either sold, leased or re-used by SAISD, however, they are not at a point where they can decide what to do with the property, she said.
“We’ll know more as we go further in the process,” she said.
President Robert Zeigler said it is too soon for the Alamo Community College District to look into buying the property.
“I think it’s premature for us right now,” he said. “It’s not even certain if they will close down. If they do, we can partner and come up with something that could benefit the community and the district. But these are discussions we can have later, so, we’ll see how it works out.”
The other five schools that are under consideration are Bowie Elementary, Cooper Middle School, and Mann, Pfeiffer and Carroll academies.
Trustees and administrators will meet with district staff to present and discuss information about the closure and proposed reorganization of the school at 6 p.m. Monday at Travis, 1915 N. Main Ave. for people in the community.
Community meetings were at Cooper Middle School and Mann Academy this week. Also Monday is a meeting at Pfeiffer Academy, Tuesday at Bowie Elementary and Carroll Academy.
SAISD trustees could make a decision on the closings as early as their Feb. 25 board meeting.
For more information, visit the district’s Web site at www.saisd.net.