Humble ISD trustees opted to keep a contract with the Memorial Hermann Community Benefit Corp. that will provide free health care to thousands of students following a month of uncertainty due to the inclusion of family planning services.

The overview

Trustees considered terminating the contract during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting but ultimately decided to table the vote. During the board’s Oct. 17 meeting, trustees voted 5-2 in favor of keeping the contract, with trustees Chris Parker and Michael Grabowski dissenting.

The contract, which was initially approved by board members in November 2021, stipulated the district would build a space for the clinic at the Humble High School campus that would then be staffed and operated by Memorial Hermann. Five board members voted to approve the contract in 2021: Robert Scarfo, Robert Sitton, Chris Parker, Ken Kirchhofer and Martina Lemond Dixon.

Among the free services listed in the contract are:
  • Health screenings
  • Physicals
  • Immunizations
  • Acute minor injury and illness treatment
  • Family planning services
  • Health education
  • Individual and group counseling
Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen noted parents would be required to opt in or out of every possible health care service on an annual basis for their students to be seen.


Why it matters

Fagen said the year-round clinic would provide free health care to students at:Among those schools, four are designated as Title I campuses, meaning at least 40% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. According to the Texas Education Agency, those campuses include:
  • Ross Sterling Middle School: about 78% of students designated as low income
  • Lakeland Elementary School: about 81% of students designated as low income
  • North Bend Elementary School: about 81% of students designated as low income
  • River Pines Elementary School: about 77% of students designated as low income
What they’re saying

Two trustees voted against the measure during the Oct. 17 meeting.

Trustee Chris Parker, who made the original motion to terminate the contract during the board’s Sept. 12 meeting, said she could not support the inclusion of family planning services.


“The family planning [services] would include ... birth control, the Depo-Provera shot, the implant birth control, up to even the Plan B birth control pill,” Parker said. “I take pause with those items.”

While trustee Michael Grabowski said he believed the clinic was a good idea, he said it shouldn’t be the district’s responsibility to pay for it.

“Healthy children will do better. I understand that, but not at the expense of our school district,” Grabowski said, noting he believed either Harris County or the city of Humble should pay for the clinic.

Fagen reminded board members that the Northeast Hospital Authority donated roughly $3.9 million to help pay for the clinic.


Board President Robert Scarfo added the only out-of-pocket costs the district would be responsible for would include security, utilities and transportation, which he said was estimated to cost around $40,000 a year.

What’s next

Trustees ultimately voted 5-2 in favor of keeping the contract and beginning the construction of a temporary space for the clinic until construction of the permanent location is complete.

Officials noted construction timelines for both the temporary and permanent clinic spaces will be determined following negotiations with Memorial Hermann Community Benefit Corp.