The HISD Board of Education on Thursday will consider the district’s initial application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for disaster assistance as a result of Hurricane Harvey.
The board’s regular monthly meeting begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17 in the Manuel Rodríguez Jr. Board Auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 W. 18th St., 77092. Click here to view the full agenda.
Per the Texas Education Code, unreimbursed disaster remediation costs that a school district incurs responding to a disaster allows the district to request a reduction in recapture payments.
As a result of Hurricane Harvey, HISD sustained damage to over 200 schools. At least 75 schools had major or extensive damage, six schools were relocated, and four campuses are being rebuilt due to significant damage.
After receiving insurance reimbursements and federal grants, the district has an unreimbursed balance of over $15 million.
If approved by the HISD Board of Education and the TEA, the reduction in recapture will go into the district’s unassigned fund balance that was used to reimburse the district’s insurance reserve at the end of the 2017–2018 school year.
Trustees are also expected to consider an agenda item that would allow the board to select a person or group of persons to assist the board with Lone Star Governance and other governance and team-building matters as a coach.
The coach would help the board, both as a corporate body and as individual board members, to effectively fulfill its policy-making and oversight role and responsibilities, and help the board work cohesively to improve student performance across the district.