The Houston Independent School District respects Friday’s court ruling and will comply with the order to further delay construction of the voter-approved Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men on the site of the former Wheatley/E.O Smith building in the Fifth Ward.
As a result of the unexpected delays caused by this litigation, HISD will be unable to meet an aggressive construction schedule that would have allowed the new school to open in time to start the 2016-2017 school year. In addition, these delays are coming at a time when building construction costs in Houston are climbing at an extremely high rate. District officials will continue to make students’ needs the top priority, and will work with the community as a whole to identify a solution that will provide students with a 21st century campus as soon as possible.