The overview
Board managers received their second overview of the proposed bond, which would largely focus on upgrading and improving more than 270 campuses throughout the district, during a special July 16 board meeting.
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles said the bond would aim to address student safety, aging infrastructure, early education availability, and career and technical education offerings by investing:
- $1.1 billion in safety and health initiatives, which would include updating heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems; removing lead from drinking water; and enhancing security infrastructure
- $1.1 billion in “future-ready” initiatives, which would entail expanding access to early childhood education, career and technical education improvements, and technology upgrades
- $2.2 billion in campus expansions, renovations and rebuilds
A closer look
Although board managers did not voice concern over the bond package as a whole, several members questioned whether the $425 million allocated toward career and technical education improvements should be scaled back during the July 16 meeting.
Miles said the Barbara Jordan Career Center is the only center solely dedicated to CTE training in the district. According to the bond proposal, the $425 million would fund the construction of three new CTE facilities as well as improvements to the existing facility.
Miles said the additional CTE facilities would provide better access to the district’s CTE programming, noting it was unfair and inequitable for students to only have one career center serving the entire district.
Board manager Cassandra Auzenne Bandy said she understood the need for greater access to CTE programming, but she questioned the cost of keeping the facilities and equipment up to date.
“We have talked a lot about ensuring our students have access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to make sure they're upscaled for the future,” Bandy said. “It seems like we are bearing the burden of managing a state-of-the-art CTE facility times four."
Miles agreed the CTE centers would be an ongoing investment.
“You still have to get the equipment, and there's got to be a continual revisiting of the programs of study that are there,” Miles said. “I don't have a great answer [to that problem] except that every year, we’ll look at it and see if we need to make a change.”
Board manager Janette Garza Lindner also questioned the need for four CTE facilities, asking administrators to consider exploring partnerships with local businesses and organizations to provide additional CTE programming.
“I really do feel that there's more that can be explored around organizations wanting to work with the district ... to fill these needs for CTE,” Lindner said. “What other ways can we share that burden across the community?”
Although Miles said the district would explore options for potential partnerships with businesses and organizations, he said those types of partnerships are only guaranteed for a handful of years before the business or organization has the option of opting out of the agreement.
Also of note
Several locally elected officials who spoke during the July 16 meeting raised concerns over the bond proposal’s plan to construct “co-locations,” which would entail merging several elementary and middle schools into single campuses.
State Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, said the inclusion of co-locations has been deeply unpopular with her constituents.
“Folks do understand that school combination plays out exactly the same way as a school closure,” Cook said. “I don't know a single person in my district that would be supportive of that.”
HISD District 2 trustee Savant Moore—who has served in an advisory capacity since being elected in November, alongside other elected trustees who were sidelined when Miles and the board of managers were appointed by the Texas Education Agency to lead the district last June—said community members from his district would not vote for the bond if administrators move forward with co-locations.
“I'm letting you know now, if [the co-locations] remain on the bond, at a minimum, 70,000 people will vote no,” Moore said.
What’s next
HISD officials said the bond proposal is not yet finalized and must be approved by board managers by Aug. 18 to appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. Board members are scheduled to consider approving the finalized bond proposal at their Aug. 8 meeting.
Moving forward, Miles said the district will create a bond oversight committee by October. He noted the committee would be made up of up to nine voting members serving staggered terms.
The committee’s duties will include holding quarterly public forums to address community concerns and providing counsel to administrators. If the bond is approved, the committee would be required to visit construction sites and review progress reports. Members would also be required to review financial reports to verify the efficient and compliant use of bond funds.
If approved, Miles said the first wave of projects, which would focus on health and safety initiatives, would launch in the second quarter of 2025.
