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Need inspiration to vote? Check out these videos from Martin Luther King, Jr. Early Childhood Center, where getting students to understand the importance of voting was a matter of showing them what it’s all about through song and dance.
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The Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council presented HISD with its Green Pioneer Award on Thursday in recognition of the district’s “unwavering dedication to building sustainable schools for generations.”
The award was accepted at an evening ceremony by Board of Education Trustees Paula Harris and Harvin Moore.
The Houston Independent School District and Trees for Houston have announced a partnership to plant trees at several HISD campuses. The Board of Education approved the partnership earlier this year. The joint effort will support HISD’s ongoing commitment to promote green schools and eco-friendly academic environments. On some campuses the trees will be watered by irrigation systems that use rainwater collected from school rooftops.
Trees for Houston will deliver a variety of drought tolerant trees to the schools at no cost to HISD. Volunteers with the organization will also plant the trees on some campuses.
“We’re pleased HISD is joining with Trees for Houston to not only improve the aesthetics for these campuses but to teach students about the importance of protecting our environment,” said HISD Board of Education President Michael Lunceford.
HISD Trustee Harvin Moore who has been a big supporter of the unique partnership said school campuses serve as learning environments, parks, and natural oases in an urban setting. “Trees are important to all of us, and as one of Houston’s largest property owners, HISD can make a big difference in keeping Houston green,” Moore said.
Trees for Houston is a non-profit organization dedicated to planting, protecting, and promoting trees. Its Trees for Schools program was developed to provide and plant much needed trees on Houston- area school campuses.
The organization’s Executive Director Barry Ward said the partnership is a great example of two organizations working together to accomplish more than either could alone. “This program provides a vital improvement to the environment as well as the economic viability to the school campus and surrounding community,” said Ward.
Trees for Houston has planted more than 430,000 trees to benefit the Houston community in the past 29 years.
The Houston Independent School District Board of Education today is scheduled to approve maintaining the lowest school property tax rate among the 26 school systems in Harris County.
Superintendent Terry Grier has recommended keeping the HISD property tax rate of $1.1567 per $100 taxable value despite the loss of $125.1 million in state funding over the past two years. Since 2002:
Harris County school districts with higher tax rates in 2011 than HISD include: Aldine, Alief, Channelview, Clear Creek, Crosby, Cypress-Fairbanks, Dayton, Deer Park, Galena Park, Goose Creek, Huffman, Humble, Katy, Klein, La Porte, New Caney, North Forest, Pasadena, Pearland, Sheldon, Spring, Spring Branch, Stafford, Tomball, and Waller.
HISD’s property tax rate is a full 20 cents below the county average of $1.3576 per $100 taxable value. This means the owner of a home with a taxable value of $200,000 in HISD pays about $400 less per year than the owner of a $200,000 home in another Harris County school district. The savings are even greater in many cases, because HISD is among just eight Harris County school districts that grant homeowners an additional 20 percent homestead exemption.
HISD’s property tax rate would remain the lowest in Harris County, even if voters approve the proposed school construction bond referendum on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
The board’s regular monthly meeting begins at 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 11, 2012 in the board auditorium of the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (4400 West 18th St., 77092).
The board is scheduled to receive status updates on a number of projects and vote on several programs, contracts, and grants. For a full copy of the Board meeting agenda, click here. The board meeting will be carried live on HISD’s website and on the HISD Channel, which can be found on Comcast Channel 18 or AT&T Channel 99.
HISD welcomed three new members into its 2012 Partnership Hall of Fame on Oct. 5.
The theme for this year’s appreciation breakfast was “Partnership Champions,” and KBR, the Port of Houston Authority, and Prepared 4 Life were all recognized for their efforts to “champion” public education by providing extra resources and opportunities for HISD students.
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Melinda Garrett, whose management of finances for Texas’ largest school district since 2001 led to numerous honors and accolades for fiscal responsibility, has announced that she will retire in December.
“I am deeply honored to have had the privilege of serving the children, taxpayers, and employees of HISD for all these years,” Garrett said. “But I’m ready to start this next chapter of my life, spending time with my husband and our family.”
On Garrett’s watch, the Houston Independent School District has maintained the highest possible bond rating and the lowest property tax rate of the two dozen school districts in Harris County. At the same time, HISD gained a national reputation for excellence in public school financial accountability. In 2011, HISD became the first U.S. school district in three years to win the prestigious Award for Excellence in Financial Management from the Council of the Great City Schools. In 2010, Garrett won the Council’s Bill Wise Award for distinguished service to America’s urban public schools.
“No single person has contributed more than Melinda Garrett toward HISD’s national reputation as a model district when it comes to managing taxpayer money with a focus on doing what is best for children,” said Superintendent Terry Grier. “It is because of Melinda’s excellent long-term financial planning during these tight budget times that our students have the resources they need to continue out-performing their peers across the state and nation.”
HISD Board of Education President Michael Lunceford commended Garrett’s ability to explain complex issues, such as Texas school finance law, in terms that the public and policymakers can understand.
“Melinda Garrett is one of the few people in Texas who really grasp all the intricacies of our state’s school finance system,” Lunceford said. “What’s even more remarkable is that she understands the history and nuance behind the system. And she has the skills and patience to help the rest of us to understand, so that we can make informed decisions that result in money going where it’s needed the most — classrooms.”
A Bellaire High School graduate, Garrett holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education from Texas Woman’s University. She landed her first job with HISD in 1976 as a kindergarten teacher at the former Easter Elementary School in 1976. Two years later, Garrett went back to school to earn her master’s degree in accounting from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She then joined the audit division of KPMG Peat Marwick and became a certified public accountant working on audits of governmental and private sector firms.
Garrett returned to HISD in 1985 as the district’s controller. She was named chief financial officer in 2001. She is a member of the Texas Association of School Business Officials, where she has served on the Accounting Advisory Committee and as president of the Gulf Coast Chapter. In 2009, the HISD Board of Education named Garrett interim superintendent before Dr. Grier was hired.
The search for Garrett’s successor is under way, Dr. Grier said.
The first grade students at Berry Elementary School recently received a generous donation, free computers for each student. The TechnoCycle 2012 Outreach program with the support of TECHNIP provided more than a hundred refurbished internet-ready computers to each first grade student. TechnoCycle says it wants to help students bridge the digital divide, and it chose Berry Elementary because the school is dedicated to educating its students about how they can have a tremendous impact in our environment.
Teacher Erin Chavez said they are excited, humbled, and gracious to be a part of providing this opportunity to the students.
TechnoCycle believes the donation will allow the students to be connected to the school and their teachers in ways that was previously inexistent due to the constraints on the children’s families. The company is also going to service the computers for an entire year for free.
The Houston Independent School District has scheduled 10 Community Conversations for the public to learn more about the district’s proposal to modernize outdated high school buildings and build new schools to meet students’ needs across the city.
The bond proposition is primarily focused on 28 of the district’s high schools but also significantly impacts 10 other school buildings. More details about the proposition can be found on the 2012 Houston Schools Bond website (click here). The measure goes before voters on Nov. 6. Early voting begins Oct. 22.
All informational meetings will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., and will include a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session. The dates and locations are:
Questions about the proposition may also be submitted via email to bondinfo@houstonisd.org.
The proposal seeks voter approval of a $1.89 billion plan to address the most serious facility needs in 38 schools. The proposal would:
Provide new campuses for 20 high schools
Partially replace 4 high schools
Renovate 4 high schools
Convert 5 elementary schools into K-8 campuses
Build 3 new elementary school campuses
Replace/complete 2 new middle school campuses
In addition, the proposed measure would include funds that would improve conditions for students in all HISD schools. Those proposals include:
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 savings from other bond projects.
If approved by voters, design work of the new schools would begin in early 2013 and the first construction projects would start in 2014.
While including millions of dollars in recommended projects that would benefit students at all 279 schools in the district, the proposed bond package focuses heavily — $1.36 billion — on the city’s high schools. HISD’s most recent bond programs approved by voters in 1998, 2002 and 2007 primarily addressed needs at the elementary school level. The average age of HISD secondary schools now stands at 50 years, compared to 39 years for the district’s primary schools.
Many of Houston’s high school buildings were designed to meet the needs of students more than half a century ago and are no longer able to accommodate the best instructional approaches for helping today’s students meet rising academic expectations, according to independent school facilities experts who recently assessed HISD schools.
Modern schools feature design elements that are shown to positively impact student achievement. Some of these elements include:
Historic neighborhood schools
and prestigious schools of choice to be replaced
The Houston Schools Bond Proposition would completely rebuild some of Houston’s most historic neighborhood high schools across the city. The proposal also includes new campuses 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 would be built downtown near Houston’s vaunted Theater District on land that HISD already owns at 1300 Capitol. HISD is working on an agreement that would allow the district to build DeBakey on property within the Texas Medical Center.
Exteriors of architecturally important schools to remain
The bond proposal recognizes the importance of protecting the character of some of HISD’s historic neighborhood high schools. Some new schools would maintain their existing building structures while their interiors are transformed. These schools include Austin, Davis, Lamar, and Milby.
Some of the schools recommended for major construction work are among those that had renovations under the 2007 bond program. In many of those cases, the previously completed work will be incorporated into the new building design.
Even with the many projects included in the bond proposal, HISD schools still have many additional facility needs that remain unaddressed. Those needs will be identified as HISD moves forward with developing a comprehensive long-range capital improvement plan.
Property tax implications
Because of the district’s strong fiscal management practices, HISD has been able to maintain the lowest property tax rate of the 20-plus school districts in Harris County. In addition, HISD is among the few districts in Texas that offer an optional 20 percent homestead exemption on top of the standard $15,000 exemption that other school districts offer.
If an election is called, and voters approve the bond package, HISD would likely adopt a property tax rate increase in the future. This tax rate increase would have no impact on the homesteads of HISD residents age 65 and older, because their tax rates are frozen.
HISD anticipates gradually phasing in a tax rate increase that in 2017 would reach a maximum of 4.85 cents per $100 of taxable value. For the owner of the average HISD home with a market value of $198,936, this would mean a monthly cost of $5.83, or $70 per year, five years from now. Under this estimate, the property tax rate would increase by 1 penny in 2014, another penny in 2016, and 2.85 cents in 2017.
School construction and renovation work approved by HISD voters in 2007 is nearing completion under budget. HISD has opened 20 new or replacement schools under that bond program, and the final 3 new schools are under construction. More than 130 HISD campuses have undergone renovations so far. Click here for more detailed information about the work completed under the 2007 bond program.
Two HISD schools were named today as 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools by U.S Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan. East Early College High School and Project Chrysalis Middle School are among only 269 schools nationwide and 18 in Texas that achieved the honor this year.
The National Blue Ribbon Schools Award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where significant improvements are being made in students’ levels of achievement.
East Early College High School and Project Chrysalis Middle School were both recognized as “Exemplary Performing” schools.
“Our nation has no greater responsibility than helping all children realize their full potential,” Duncan said. “Schools honored with the National Blue Ribbon Schools award are committed to accelerating student achievement and preparing students for success in college and careers. Their work reflects the conviction that every child has promise and that education is the surest pathway to a strong, secure future.”
The Department of Education will honor all of the schools at a recognition ceremony on Nov. 12-13 in Washington, D.C.
Some combination of the four made-to-order food concepts first piloted in nine campus cafeterias last fall will be operating at 31 HISD high schools by the end of this school year.
Students eating lunch on campus will be able to choose from a made-from-scratch soup or a fresh sandwich at the Green Street Deli; a burger at the Custom Brothers Grill Company; a slice of pizza at The Home Zone; or Tex-Mex staples such as crispy tacos or quesadillas at the Tortilla Fresh Mex station.
Each campus will offer two to four of these exciting brands, and all will incorporate the very healthiest options, such as whole-grain breads, low-fat meats and cheeses, and foods that are baked instead of fried. Foods will also be seasoned with herbs and spices and sweetened naturally, with no added salt or sugar.
The grand openings will begin in September and continue through December, when all renovations are scheduled to be complete.
Middle schools will also find a new option this year, as most campuses will offer a variation of The Home Zone menu and a new Tex-Mex serving station with all their Tex-Mex favorites.