Category Archives: Board of Education

HISD superintendent shares report on Listen and Learn tour findings

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Watch Superintendent Carranza’s report about what he learned during his Listen and Learn Tour

Houston Independent School District Superintendent Richard Carranza has shared a full report on the results of the Listen and Learn town hall meetings with the HISD Board of Education.

The HISD Board of Education hosted more than two dozen town hall meetings that began in September as a way to introduce Carranza to the community, solicit input from stakeholders about the district’s future, and learn about key issues across HISD.

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Runoff election Saturday for HISD District VII Trustee race

Winner will serve outgoing Trustee Harvin Moore’s unexpired term

A runoff election will be held Saturday to determine the winner of the HISD Board of Education District VII seat to fill the unexpired term of outgoing Trustee Harvin Moore.

Candidates competing in the runoff are Anne Sung and John Luman. The runoff election winner will serve the remainder of Moore’s term in office, which runs through 2017.

Election day polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Polling information and a sample ballot can be found online at HarrisVotes.com.

The HISD Board of Education is comprised of nine trustees who each serve a four-year term. Click here to see a map of HISD trustee districts.

HISD Board of Education to consider community’s calendar recommendation

The Houston Independent School District Board of Education on Thursday will consider adopting a 2017-2018 academic calendar supported by 89 percent of survey takers.

The proposed calendar would give students and staff a full week off for Thanksgiving. The first day of school for students would be Aug. 28, and the final day of classes would be June 1. For the first time, HISD this year allowed parents, students, staff, and community members to vote on their preferred calendar. After more than 75,000 votes were tallied, nearly 90 percent favored the calendar option that is being brought forward for board approval.

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Superintendent takes questions from HISD community during Virtual Listen & Learn broadcasts 

Superintendent Richard Carranza wrapped up his Listen & Learn Tour on Monday night with two virtual sessions in both English and Spanish, which were streamed live on HISD-TV, the district’s website, and Facebook.

Topics included the issue of recapture and how the state’s current school funding structure is affecting the district, equity, dual language programs, fine arts access, serving the whole child, standardized testing, special education, and what the superintendent is looking for in future district leaders.

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Runoff election date set for HISD District VII Trustee race

Winner will serve outgoing Trustee Harvin Moore’s unexpired term

The runoff election for the top two candidates to fill the unexpired term of outgoing HISD District VII Trustee Harvin Moore has been set for Dec. 10.

Candidates competing in the runoff are Anne Sung and John Luman. Continue reading →

HISD District VI Trustee Greg Meyers stepping down from board

Trustee Greg Meyers, who has represented HISD District VI since 2004, announced Thursday that he will resign from the school board at the end of this year.

Meyers served as board president in 2010 and is the current executive director of Citizen Schools-Texas. Today, he serves as a board member for the University of St. Thomas School of Education and as a delegate for the Texas Association of School Boards. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in the University of Houston’s K-12 Professional Leadership program.

“Every single day, every opportunity I try to commit myself to focus on kids first,” Meyers said. “While I may not be here physically, I will always be here to serve HISD.” Continue reading →

HISD District VII Trustee race to be decided in runoff

Winner will serve outgoing Trustee Harvin Moore’s unexpired term

The top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s special election to fill the unexpired term of outgoing HISD Trustee Harvin Moore are heading for a runoff election.

None of the four candidates in the District VII race won the required majority of votes, so the two with the most votes will compete in the runoff, a date for which has not yet been set.

Candidates making the runoff are Anne Sung, who won 46.8 percent of the vote on Tuesday, and John Luman, who earned 29.25 percent of votes, according to unofficial results tabulated by the Harris County Clerk.

The runoff winner will serve the remainder of Moore’s term in office, which runs through 2017. Click here to see a map of HISD trustee districts.

HISD’s recapture referendum, Prop 1, fails

District pledges to work with lawmakers and business community next session

Now that voters have declined to authorize the Houston Independent School District to send local property taxes to the State of Texas, HISD leaders will continue working with lawmakers and the business community on a long-term solution for the Texas school finance system. This will be the district’s top priority when the legislative session begins in January.

Under Texas law, school districts with property values above a certain amount per student cannot keep all of their local tax dollars. Because of rising property values, HISD owes the State $162 million of its local revenues this school year.

On Tuesday, HISD conducted a state-mandated election asking voters how the payment would be made to the State.  Because voters rejected sending the $162 million payment, state law allows the Texas Education Commissioner to collect the money by detaching an estimated $18 billion worth of non-residential, commercial properties from HISD’s tax roll and reassigning those properties to other school districts for tax purposes. Detachment of property would start in July of 2017, if the Legislature does not act next session.

“The Texas Legislature reconvenes in January of 2017,” said HISD Board of Education President Manuel Rodríguez Jr.  “We look forward to working with the Texas Legislature and the business community during the upcoming session to identify a solution that lessens the impact of recapture on our classrooms and the community at-large.”

HISD board president honored for dedication to education

Houston ISD District 3 Trustee Manuel Rodríguez Jr.

Houston ISD District 3 Trustee Manuel Rodríguez Jr.

Houston Independent School District Board of Education President Manuel Rodríguez Jr. will be recognized as the 2016 Pearl Award Honoree by the Hispanic Family Initiative on Friday, Oct. 14 during the Hispanic Family and Fatherhood Conference.

The Hispanic Family Initiative named Rodríguez as the 2016 Pearl Award recipient for his community service efforts and dedication to helping HISD families and students. The Hispanic Family Initiative is an organization that focuses on addressing issues facing Hispanic families in Houston and across the country. The organization’s annual Hispanic Family Conference brings together local professionals to Houston Community College for an opportunity to discuss the importance of fathers being engaged in their children’s education.

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