The Bond Oversight Committee held its first meeting of 2015 on Tuesday, hearing an update on the bond program and the impact that soaring construction costs are having on HISD’s plan to build or renovate 40 schools.
Since 2012, when Houston voters approved the district’s $1.89 billion bond program, the district has seen an average 44 percent increase in building costs, from about $146 per square foot in 2012 to about $210 per square foot today.
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Law Elementary pre-kindergarten students showed off their bilingual skills to the local media at a press conference on Jan. 23 announcing the expansion of HISD’s dual language program. Law began its dual language program three years ago with pre-K students and now is offering it up to third grade. It will continue to add one grade each year. Continue reading
HISD trustees got a detailed look on Jan. 22 at the impact of escalating construction costs on the district’s bond program at a workshop that also considered possible strategies to address potential budget gaps.
Since 2012, when Houston voters approved the district’s $1.89 billion bond program to renovate or replace 40 schools, the district has seen an unprecedented jump in building costs, a trend that is posing challenges for school districts across the region and nation.
In Houston, construction costs have jumped an average of 44 percent from about $146 per square foot in 2012 to about $210 per square foot today.
Much of that spike is attributed to the oil and building boom over the last several years, which spurred Houston and much of the state on to a robust economy – even when others were experiencing a downturn. The growth in the energy sector brought an influx of commercial construction projects to the area, along with a huge demand for workers and materials, such as steel and concrete.
The district has already taken some steps to deal with potential gaps, including moving inflation and some reserve dollars to each school’s construction budget. On Thursday, the Board of Education also gave the district the green light to consider other strategies, including waiting to bid a project or re-bidding portions of a project to try to get a better price.
Trustees noted that the recent drop in oil prices may help push construction costs down as energy companies delay building projects and more workers and materials become available.
“I think we owe the taxpayers better than to move forward as if there’s been no change in the economy,” said Trustee Harvin Moore. “As oil prices decline, I’m confident that construction costs will follow, so putting some of our projects on hold is a very logical way to handle this.”
In the coming weeks and months, HISD officials will analyze the various options for each project to determine the best path forward.
When Meghan Berndt learned that she would be attending her dream college this fall, she immediately began thanking all of the people who helped her get accepted there.
Read more about how the Sharpstown High School senior reacted to the exciting news in the Jan. 23, 2015, edition of eNews.
Other stories in this week’s edition include:
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Click here to see the full issue for Jan. 23.
Alex Jones works with students on a geography lesson using both old (the globe) and new (iPads) technology.
Alex Jones, a science lab teacher at Gallegos Elementary School, has been named one of only three finalists (.pdf) for Texas Computer Education Association’s (TCEA) Classroom Teacher of the Year. The award is presented annually to the educator who best recognizes the importance of technology in school and actively tries to promote its use in his or her classroom.
Jones previously served as an education specialist, a special projects coordinator, and an educational technologist, “but my love for children brought me back to HISD and the classroom” this year. His passionate lobbying also persuaded Principal Jessica Tejeda to purchase iPads especially for the science lab.
“I am extremely passionate about teaching young children and enhancing my lessons through the use of technology,” explained Jones, “especially with iOS devices.”
Ariel Simmons
Three students from Carnegie Vanguard High School are making news this week for being at the top of their respective games.
Congratulations to these talented students!
As part of HISD’s transition to digital teaching and learning, the PowerUp:HUB is playing an increasingly central role. One key feature of the online teaching and learning platform is the HUB Library, which is designed to hold a comprehensive collection of “learning objects” for use as part of the teaching and learning process. Learning objects in the HUB Library can be anything from adopted instructional materials (i.e., HISD’s adopted digital textbooks) to activities and resources that teachers create and share. One unique feature of learning objects in the HUB Library is that they can be tagged with standards and keywords that allow teachers to search for just the resource they need. Continue reading
More than 200 parents gathered on the campus of Red Elementary School on Jan. 15 for a family STEM night that featured many fun, hands-on activities for participating students.
Children could design a floating car, create computer code, solve math problems, or read books on subjects related to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
The highlight of the evening was a robot-building contest judged by representatives from the community, HISD administrators, and the National Society of Black Engineers. Students were required to put together a humanoid-looking creation between three and four feet high using only recycled items. Pre-K student Curtis Mayfield (pictured) won the contest with a design made from a cereal box, empty vinegar bottle, old pair of tennis shoes, and cardboard toilet paper rolls. His prize was a new Samsung tablet.
Licensed Athletic Trainer Stephanie Polydore helped her Waltrip HS student Xavier Smith recover from a season-ending injury last fall. Now fully recovered, he plans to run track this spring.
For Licensed Athletic Trainer (LAT) Stephanie Polydore, one of the most gratifying aspects of her job is helping injured student athletes get back on track—both literally and figuratively.
“I love helping athletes get back to their full ability to compete in their sport,” said Polydore, who also teaches a sports medicine class at Waltrip High School.
The former stadium-based LAT is now one of only two campus-based LATS in HISD (the other is at Chávez HS). And while Polydore wasn’t able to salvage the football season for senior Xavier Smith, who broke his leg during the very first scrimmage of the season, thanks to the rehab he completed under her supervision, “he says he feels stronger now than he did before he was injured. He’s actually going to run track this spring.”
Hundreds of HISD students competed for awards in the field of oil and natural gas exploration at the annual Petro Challenge held at the University of Houston Jan. 20-23, 2015. The event consisted of two days of training and two days of competition. A number of teams made up of 163 students from Energy Institute High School competed Wednesday, and Team Petros won the day. On Friday, competition took place among 210 students on teams from HISD’s other petroleum academies — Milby HS, Westside HS, and Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy.
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