The Norhside Independent School District wants to acquire the U.Í. Army Reserve Center to use as a Learning and Transportation Center.

The San Antonio City Council will vote today on whether to award a contract to Northside Independent School District for its Learning and Transportation Center.

NISD is one of two applicants asking to acquire the U.S. Army Reserve Center at 600 Callaghan Road. The five-acre site is being closed through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process and is being made available to entities who propose projects that will have a positive impact on economic development and will enhance the surrounding neighborhood.

Northside is proposing to use an existing multi-use building on the Callaghan Road site for the district’s Alternative High School, which is currently operating in 14 portable classrooms and has run out of room for expansion. The Alternative High School is geared for students with disciplinary problems and keeps them in school by serving as an alternative to expulsion.

The existing building also would be used for a community center that would offer literacy programs, GED classes, parenting classes, workforce training, and other adult and community education programs.

Another portion of the Callaghan Road site has an existing heavy duty parking lot that would be used for Northside’s fifth bus depot. The district needs an additional transportation center to accommodate growth and to reduce fuel costs by transporting neighborhood children to neighborhood schools.

Last month, an evaluation committee of city staff members recommended that the other applicant for the site, Southwest Research Institute, should acquire the property.

“With all due respect, the staff recommendation was wrong,” NISD superintendent John Folks said. “The scores assigned to Northside are not an honest representation of the district’s quality or its ability to turn the Callaghan Road U.S. Army Reserve Center into a vibrant focal point of the neighborhood that will enrich the lives of this city’s residents.”