District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez Says He Learned Of The Eastside Clubhouse Pause Alongside The Community And Is Looking At Options To Keep Youth Services At The MLK Drive Facility
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez is responding to the sudden pause in programming at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club, saying the decision was made by the organization — not the city — and that he learned about it around the same time as families and community members.
McKee-Rodriguez addressed the closure in an Instagram video after news spread that Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio will suspend programming at its Eastside Clubhouse, located at 3503 Martin Luther King Drive, beginning Sept. 30.
The organization has attributed the move to significant funding losses and ongoing financial challenges. Its Rayburn Clubhouse is also scheduled to permanently close Sept. 25.
“This was not a decision made by the city,” McKee-Rodriguez said in the video.
Related: “This is Not Right”, Community Members React to the Closing of The Eastside Boys & Girls Club
His comments come after East Side residents, former club members and families began circulating letters announcing the changes on Facebook earlier this week. As the Observer previously reported, residents described the MLK Drive facility as a “staple” and the “pride of Eastside,” with some questioning what the loss of programming will mean for children and working families.
McKee-Rodriguez Points To Organization’s Financial Problems
McKee-Rodriguez said the city is now trying to determine what can be done next, while drawing a distinction between the Boys & Girls Clubs organization and the city-owned facility where it operates.
In the video, the councilman discussed the financial problems facing the organization and said the city still has a responsibility when an organization operating from a city facility runs into trouble.
He indicated that one path would be for Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio to stabilize its finances and strengthen its management and operations. If that cannot happen, McKee-Rodriguez said he is looking at other possibilities for ensuring the Eastside facility continues providing services to young people.
“The goal is not just” to keep an organization in place, he said during the video, emphasizing instead the services the facility was designed to provide.
That distinction is significant because San Antonio voters have already committed millions of dollars to the Eastside Clubhouse itself.
The 2022 bond program allocated $3.75 million for a structural assessment and improvements at the Eastside Clubhouse. The city lists that bond project as complete, and City Council separately approved a $1.82 million construction task order in 2024 for improvements at the facility.
McKee-Rodriguez Responds Directly To Observer Readers
McKee-Rodriguez also joined the conversation underneath the San Antonio Observer’s Facebook post about the clubhouse, responding directly to residents questioning what city leaders were doing.
“So why hasn’t the city council member of this district been screaming about this??” Monica La Fuente Ramirez asked.
McKee-Rodriguez responded that he had only recently been informed of the decision.
“I posted a video yesterday about the organization mishandling money and what the path forward looks like,” McKee-Rodriguez wrote. “I was just notified at the same time you all were.”
His assertion that the organization mishandled money is McKee-Rodriguez’s characterization of the situation. Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio’s notices to families and employees cited significant funding losses and ongoing financial challenges but did not use that characterization.
McKee-Rodriguez also connected the timing to the larger city budget debate.
“We are also less than 24 hours away from considering the city budget and the 10s of millions of dollars being cut from programs across the board, and trying to prevent harm on the Eastside,” he wrote.
San Antonio City Council is considering its FY 2027 budget amid a substantial projected shortfall and proposed reductions affecting multiple city programs and services.
Another commenter, Annette Moore, suggested city leaders were “more concerned with Project Marvel,” the broader downtown development effort that includes plans for a new Spurs arena.
McKee-Rodriguez responded by pointing to his own concerns over public spending and the Spurs’ planned move away from the East Side.
“More concerned as in I’m more concerned that the Spurs are divesting from the Eastside and the city is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on an arena instead of our community needs?” he wrote. “Yeah I’m pretty concerned about that too.”
McKee-Rodriguez has opposed some recent public-financing decisions connected to the proposed downtown arena, including voting against the use of Midtown Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone funding tied to the arena land purchase.
What Happens Next At The Eastside Clubhouse?
For families, the immediate timeline has not changed.
The Eastside Clubhouse is scheduled to stop programming Sept. 30, with Boys & Girls Clubs of San Antonio describing the move as a pause rather than a permanent closure. The organization has said it is working with community partners and exploring resources for affected families.
McKee-Rodriguez said he does not yet have every answer but is looking at available options for the facility and the services offered there.
