SAN ANTONIO — Elidia Solis has owned her casita (home) on San Antonio’s East Side for nearly 50 years. It’s in a historically Black neighborhood, which has seen a shift in demographics. “That’s what it was like back then. Now there are a lot of Hispanics,” Solis said. 

What You Need To Know

  • Dorie Miller Elementary School is one of 19 schools San Antonio ISD initially recommended be closed. The list was updated to 15 schools, sparing four schools

  • There is a lack of communication in Spanish by SAISD

  • SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino says the district has met these needs by offering ear pieces with real-time translations at meetings
  • Mariel Gastélum-Baray, who is bilingual, says the information she has gotten in Spanish infers the school closures are a done deal
  • The vote to close the schools is on Nov. 13

It’s reflective in her granddaughter’s school, which is 87% Hispanic. Dorie Miller Elementary School is one of 19 schools San Antonio ISD initially recommended be closed. The list was updated to 15 schools, sparing four schools. 

At one of the first few community meetings after the initial list was released, Solis was one of the loudest voices. “Where will our children go? They are our children, and we pay taxes and we demand respect at Dorie Miller. Don’t close our schools,” Solis said. 

Elidia immigrated from Mexico and says it’s taken her decades to learn English and get her GED. “Here’s my proof. I do know how to speak English, I do know,” Solis said, holding her ESL certificate from SAISD. “It’s not because we are stupid. We are not stupid, we are poor.” 

The lack of communication in Spanish by SAISD, she says, leaves her with more questions than answers. “At the meetings they just say a word in Spanish and everything else is in English and we don’t understand. We don’t understand. We’re confused,” Solis said. 

Across town, a mother at Lamar Elementary, one of the 15 schools recommended to close, brought this issue up with SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino at a community meeting. She started off speaking in Spanish so her peers could understand her. Aquino says the district has met these needs by offering ear pieces with real-time translations at meetings. “We have a very robust website that is available in Spanish. You can just click the button and all that information will be translated,” Aquino said. Solis says it’s not that easy. “I don’t even know how to access those things. I have my phone, but I don’t know how to use it,” Solis said.  

Mariel Gastélum-Baray, like Solis, is from Mexico, but she is bilingual. She says the information she has gotten in Spanish infers the school closures are a done deal. She says many like her don’t realize there are opportunities to have a say. “They are dependent on the bilingual parents’ availability to translate. What if we get it wrong? We are not official translators. We don’t have the right terminology,” Gastélum-Baray said.

She and Mariel say it would’ve been more productive for Spanish-speaking administration to educate Spanish-only families on the nuances. “Why do I have to educate myself on school budgeting and politics and what a superintendent is and a board of trustees? It’s exhausting — and in another language,” Gastélum-Baray said. The feeling is mutual for Solis.  

As the Nov. 13 vote to close the schools nears, Solis believes one thing is clearly understood amongst families. “The only thing that we know is that we don’t want the schools to close,” she said. “It’s simple.”