Superintendent Terry Grier says approval of the Houston Schools Bond will transform the city and impact millions of children for years to come. The measure passed by a more than 2-1 margin, based on early and absentee voting totals released Tuesday night by the Harris County Clerk’s Office. “Everybody has such a great smile on their face. Isn’t this a great day to be in Houston, Texas?” Dr. Grier asked as he greeted principals at their regular monthly meeting. The crowd broke into applause and began cheering.
Thirty-eight schools, including 28 of the city’s high schools, will be rebuilt or renovated under the bond proposal. The superintendent thanked principals for their efforts to inform voters about the details of the proposal and said he strongly believes their efforts prompted overwhelming voter approval of the measure.
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In addition to rebuilding and renovating schools, the Houston Schools Bond includes funds for districtwide technology upgrades, athletic facility improvements, middle school restroom renovations, and districtwide safety and security improvements. Superintendent Grier says the district has not yet decided the order in which facility needs will be addressed.
After passing with 69 percent of the vote on Tuesday night, the 2012 Houston Schools Bond will be the topic of Superintendent Terry Grier’s monthly meeting with principals this morning at 9 a.m. Dr. Grier will discuss the next steps for the $1.89 billion proposition. The media has been invited to the 9 a.m. meeting
Dr. Grier, Board President Mike Lunceford, and Board Trustees Rhonda Skillern-Jones, Manuel Rodriguez Jr., and Harvin Moore were in attendance at a districtwide election watch party on Tuesday night at Hattie Mae White to celebrate with staff as the returns came in.
The Superintendent and members of the board addressed the crowd Tuesday night at the celebration.
“This bond is a game changer. This is going to change the lives of hundreds of thousands and eventually millions of students in our school district,” Dr. Grier said. “It’s going to change our city. It’s going to increase property values. It’s going to bring jobs to our community.”
Thirty-eight Houston Independent School District campuses, including 28 of the city’s high schools, will be rebuilt or renovated under a bond proposition that won voter approval by better than a 2-1 margin on Tuesday.
The $1.89 billion measure passed with overwhelming support, earning 69 percent voter approval, according to unofficial results tabulated by the Harris County Clerk’s office. More than 312,000 ballots were cast in the election.
“Houston voters sent a message today that all children, regardless of where they live, deserve to attend quality school in quality buildings that offer our great teachers the tools they need to prepare students for a successful future,” said Trustee Michael Lunceford, president of the HISD Board of Education. “The new schools that will be built because of this vote will benefit today’s students, their future children, and even their grandchildren.”
HISD asked voters to consider the bond proposition after an independent evaluation of the district’s facilities showed that the average Houston high school is more than 50 years old and lacks the proper infrastructure to support modern technology and teaching strategies. The evaluation found that the cost of maintaining these deteriorating schools would soon surpass the replacement cost. Past HISD bond measures, including the 2007 plan that was passed with 51 percent of the vote, have focused on the district’s elementary and middle schools.
Because of the large amount of construction included in the 2012 bond proposition, HISD will spread the work out over the next six to eight years. This approach will help control costs and allow the district to gradually phase in a 4.85-cent property tax rate increase over the next five years. The district will soon seek bids from firms interested in performing the architectural design and engineering work on the first batch of projects. The list of school projects to be included in the first phase of construction is being developed with an eye toward breaking ground on at least one project in each geographic district within HISD around the same time. Construction work is expected to begin in 2014. Click here for more details about the 2012 bond package.
“When this work is finished, Houston will boast the most modern portfolio of urban high school campuses in America,” Superintendent Terry Grier said. “For years, HISD has been a national model for other urban school districts that are striving to simultaneously close the achievement gap while raising the level of achievement of all students, including the highest performers. Thanks to Houston’s voters, we will finally have quality campuses to fully support our students’ strong academic progress.”
Projects funded though the bond proposition include:
New campuses for 20 high schools
Austin
Bellaire
Davis
DeBakey
Eastwood
Furr
High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
Jordan
Lamar
Lee
Madison
Milby
North Early College
Sam Houston
Sharpstown
South Early College
Sterling
Washington
Worthing
Yates
Partially replacing 4 high schools
Waltrip
Young Men’s College Prep Academy
Westbury
Young Women’s College Prep Academy
Renovating 4 high schools
Jones
Kashmere
Scarborough
Sharpstown International
Converting 5 elementary schools into K-8 campuses
Garden Oaks Montessori
Mandarin Chinese Language Immersion School at Gordon
Pilgrim Academy
Wharton Dual Language School
Wilson Montessori
Building 3 new elementary school campuses
Askew
Parker
Relief school on the west side
Replacing/completing 2 new middle school campuses
Grady (new addition to complete new campus)
Dowling (new campus)
In addition, the bond includes funds that would improve conditions for students in all HISD schools. This includes:
$100 million for district-wide technology improvements
$44.7 million to replace regional field houses and improve athletic facilities
$35 million to renovate middle school restrooms
$17.3 million for district-wide safety and security improvements
The Board of Education has also agreed to rebuild two schools – Condit Elementary and High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice – either through the sale of surplus district property, or by using any potential leftover bond funds.
Historic neighborhood schools and prestigious schools of choice to be replaced
HISD will now completely rebuild some of Houston’s most historic neighborhood high schools across the city. Some replacement schools will maintain their existing building structures while their interiors are transformed. These schools include Austin, Davis, Lamar, and Milby. The remaining replacement schools, including Yates, Washington, and Lee, will be demolished and replaced with entirely new buildings. New campuses are also in the works for some of HISD’s prestigious specialty schools, including the nationally renowned High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, DeBakey High School for Health Professions, and Eastwood Academy. All three schools made this year’s Children at Risk list of the Houston region’s Top 10 high schools.
The new HSPVA will be built downtown near Houston’s vaunted Theater District on land that HISD already owns at 1300 Capitol. DeBakey, meanwhile, will be relocated to property within the Texas Medical Center.
Each campus included in the bond package will have a Project Advisory Team made up of staff, parents, and community members, who will have input in the design and construction process to ensure that each school’s unique needs are addressed.
New schools to support continued academic achievement
Houston ISD students have made great strides in the classroom over the past several years. Click here to read more about the strong academic progress being made by HISD students.
“We know that what happens inside our classrooms is more important than the physical classrooms themselves. Our work to put effective teachers in every classroom and strong principals in every school is paying off,” Dr. Grier said.
HISD’s dropout and graduation rates are at record levels after four consecutive years of moving in the right direction. Hundreds more Houston students are scoring at the college-ready level on the SAT than at any other time in the district’s history. The same goes for the number of HISD students earning college credit through tough Advanced Placement exams, which is up 45 percent since 2009. And this year, Houston was the only Texas school district to be among the four finalists for the nation’s most prestigious education award: the Broad Prize for Urban Education.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the $1.89 billion HISD school construction bond which means 38 campuses including 28 high schools will be rebuilt or renovated. Early returns released by the Harris County Clerk’s office showed the HISD bond proposition leading with 66 percent of the vote with nearly 200,000 ballots cast.
HISD Board of Education President Michael Lunceford said this vote means there will be quality schools for all students. He also encouraged everyone to have their voice heard about the new schools. ” We want the community’s involvement and more importantly we want your input as we move forward,” said Lunceford.
Superintendent Terry Grier thanked everyone who voted for the bond and said this is going to change the lives of many students. “This vote shows us that Houston has not given up on public schools and our children. Thank you on behalf of our children. ”
Because of the large amount of construction included in the 2012 bond proposition, HISD will spread the work out over the next six to eight years.
In the heart of Tel Aviv, Israel, there is a school where children from 48 different countries and diverse backgrounds come together to learn. Many of the students arrive at the Bialik-Rogozin School fleeing poverty, political adversity, and even genocide. On Monday, Nov. 5, the school’s former principal came to HISD to share the story behind her campus and to hear more about the challenges HISD refugee students face.
“Children, no matter where they are from, want and need the same things,” said Karen Tal who won a 2011 Oscar for her short documentary Strangers No More. “They want to be accepted and they want to be a part of society.”
Simultaneous phone banks after school on Monday at Davis, Sharpstown, Chavez, Scarborough and Furr plus one earlier on Friday at the Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center (MSTC) resulted in 187 commitments from Houston voters promising to hit the polls on Election Day.
More than 100 students participated in the phone banks in collaboration with Mi Familia Vota, a national nonprofit organization geared to promote civic engagement.
“This was an excellent opportunity for our kids to contribute toward a good cause, one that will benefit everyone,” said Sharpstown High School Principal Rob Gasparello. “It is always good to work with the great folks from Mi Familia Vota. The students really enjoyed volunteering for this event.”
The students volunteered a couple of hours after school to call eligible voters in their communities to encourage them to vote on Tuesday and remind them to finish the ballot.
“We had great results across the board from students, teachers and staff,” said Will Hernandez, deputized volunteer for Mi Familia Vota. “Thank you to HISD for allowing us to collaborate on this project!”
Mi Familia Vota provided the students at each campus headsets and a computer program to help facilitate the phone bank, along with the list of contact numbers for voters in their surrounding areas.
Students from Davis High School previously participated on another phone bank with Mi Familia Vota on October 19 to promote civic engagement and placed over a thousand phone calls.
At Sam Houston MSTC, parents and students made hundreds of phone calls to Houston voters on November 2.
Campus to unveil new mustang mascot at event celebrating 75 years
Stephen F. Austin High School will be celebrating its 75th year of existence with a Diamond Jubilee on Sat., Nov. 10.
Festivities will take place from 1 to 4 p.m., and the program will include the unveiling of a Scottish Brigade memorial plaque (a girls’ drum, bugle, and bagpipe drill corps, 1937–1978), an all-choir presentation, a tribute to fallen heroes, an alumni pep rally, student exhibits and concessions, and a reception. Continue reading →
HISD’s Class of 2012 earned a record $180 million in college scholarship offers, and seniors this year are hoping to match or surpass that number. To assist students in their scholarship search, HISD’s College and Career Readiness Department is holding the “No Dollar Left Behind” Scholarship and Financial Aid Fair on Tuesday, Nov. 13, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Challenge Early College High School (5601 West Loop South, 77081).
Students and parents attending the fair will have the opportunity to speak with various scholarship exhibitors, learn how to improve their scholarship search and get tips for successful essay writing. Representatives from the Department of Education will also be on hand to answer questions.
“Many of our HISD families believe they can’t afford to send their child to college, but there is plenty of aid out there if you you know where to look,” said HISD Counseling Manager Nefertari Mundy. “In fact, there is nearly $150 billion dollars available from the federal government in the form of grants, loans, work study and scholarships. We want to make sure our students leave no dollar behind.”
Students attending the fair will also have a chace to win a $1,500 scholarship and can meet with representatives from 20 different organizations that have scholarships available to HISD students, including the Houston Live Stock Show and Rodeo, the Houston Hispanic Forum and the Childrens Defense Fund, to name a few.
Regional colleges like Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern and others will also be on hand to discuss scholarships that their institutions have to offer students.
HISD seniors attending the fair can also receive a free meningitis immunization thanks to the Meningitis Initiative. Students must have this vaccine to attend most colleges.
On the eve of Election Day, dozens of students from various HISD high schools will be volunteering with Mi Familia Vota to call thousands of Houston voters to encourage them to hit the polls on Election Day.
Students from Chavez, Furr, Scarborough, Davis and Sharpstown high schools will be working the phones today after school to call eligible voters in their communities to encourage them to vote on Tuesday and remind them to finish the ballot. Nearly 30 students from each campus will be participating.
Mi Familia Vota, a nonprofit organization geared to promote civic engagement, will be providing the students at each campus headsets and a computer program to help facilitate the phone bank, along with the list of contact numbers for voters in their surrounding areas.
Students from Davis High School previously participated on another phone bank with Mi Familia Vota on October 19 to promote civic engagement and placed over a thousand phone calls.
At the Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center, parents and students made hundreds of phone calls to Houston voters on November 2.
Find your Election Day polling location and view a sample ballot
Election Day, Nov. 6, will soon be here and voters will head to numerous locations across the city to cast their votes. Don’t miss your chance to vote on the 2012 Houston Schools Bond Proposition – it’s at the very end of the ballot. The $1.89 billion proposition would rebuild or renovate 38 schools in neighborhoods across Houston and upgrade technology in all HISD classrooms.