SAN ANTONIO – Two former North East Independent School District campuses will soon be repurposed as law enforcement training facilities, a move county leaders are excited about but has raised questions among nearby residents.
Wilshire Elementary School and Driscoll Middle School closed because of declining enrollment, according to NEISD.
Bexar County officials highlighted the move last month that the vacant campuses will be leased for training use by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the Alamo Area Council of Governments.
“I want to recognize the collaboration between the county and NEISD and thank all involved,” said Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai during a recent commissioners court meeting.
While county leaders praised the agreement, some neighbors said they were surprised by the decision.
“At first, when they said it was going to be a police training station, I thought, ‘That’s weird in a neighborhood,’” said Margaret Hoyt, who lives near Wilshire.
Lawrence Burton, another nearby resident, said he does not oppose the idea but wants more information.
“I can’t think of an objection to it, but I don’t know what it will look like,” Burton said.
NEISD has agreed to lease both campuses. KSAT has not seen the details of the agreement between Driscoll Middle School and the Alamo Area Council of Governments.
The lease for Wilshire Elementary School will run for five years and cost nearly $400,000, according to county officials.
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the agreement will help the department save some money.
“It’s just going to be run-of-the-mill cadet training,” Salazar said. “Most of the time, the community won’t see the cadets because they’ll be in a classroom setting.”
Salazar said some hands-on training will take place, including school-shooting simulations, but emphasized that activities will remain confined to the building.
“I can’t see a scenario where we have actors running through a neighborhood or creating any type of panic,” Salazar said.
That aspect of the training raised concerns for some residents.
“I really wouldn’t want to live next door to that if that was going on,” Burton said. “Something like that should be in a more isolated area.”
Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert said training in a school setting is critical for preparing officers.
“Sadly, after things like Uvalde, the training that can happen at a school, where you become very sharp about the way these institutions are designed and thinking through how you run toward that situation,” Calvert said, calling the partnership “a great collaboration.”
Salazar said he hopes to have cadets training at Wilshire within the next month or two. As for Driscoll Middle School, AACOG reportedly plans to use the campus for law enforcement training.
Representatives with the Alamo Area Council of Governments did not respond to KSAT’s multiple calls and emails seeking comment.
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