HISD Board of Education tables plan detailing distribution of funds to schools for 2016-2017

Trustees also approve renaming Reagan High School, new name for Grady Middle School

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education voted Thursday to postpone consideration of a plan detailing how funding will be distributed to campuses across the district for the 2016-2017 school year.

Trustees postponed the vote for 30 days to allow time to further study the funding plan before bringing it back before the board in April.

The funding plan is outlined in the district’s annual Resource Allocation Handbook, which campus administrators use to develop their budgets for the coming school year. It calls for a reconfiguration of district funding methods to ensure the neediest students still receive appropriate resources despite budget cuts resulting from the state’s funding formula.

HISD is facing a $107 million shortfall for the 2016-2017 school year because the current school finance plan deems the district property-wealthy and requires it to send millions of local tax dollars back to the state — a process known as recapture. Though nearly 80 percent of HISD students come from low-income families, the district is considered property-wealthy because of rising property values throughout the city.

A budget workshop is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 24, 2016, at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.

Also on Thursday, trustees:

  • Approved a resolution formally beginning the process of renaming Reagan High School so that it better represents the district’s values and diversity. The campus will be required to form a school-naming committee composed of diverse staff, students, parents, and school stakeholders. That committee is charged with exploring school renaming options that adhere to board guidelines and submitting recommendations to trustees by May. The process is already underway at seven other HISD schools — Grady, Dowling, Jackson, Johnston and Lanier middle schools, and Davis and Lee high schools. The Grady committee was the first to complete the process, unanimously recommending the school be renamed after the nearby Tanglewood neighborhood. Trustees on Thursday approved the new name: Tanglewood Middle School.

 

  •  Did not approve the final reading of a policy revision addressing inconsistencies related to non-comprehensive high school participation in University Interscholastic League sports. The revision would have allowed only comprehensive high schools to offer UIL athletic activities. Specialty high schools without attendance boundaries would not have been able to compete in UIL athletics. Carnegie Vanguard High School is currently the only specialty campus in HISD offering UIL sports.