There could still be changes, if the Board of Managers decides to do something other than be the usual rubber stamp.
About three weeks before its potential vote, Houston ISD’s Board of Managers held a special meeting Tuesday to question parts of the district’s plans for a $4.4 billion school bond package.
In response to dozens of questions from board members before the meeting, HISD leaders provided further details on the bond development process, the district’s planned career-and-technology education investments, and plans for oversight and community engagement if the bond passes. The board, which was not initially scheduled to meet in July, is expected to vote Aug.8 on whether the bond will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
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At the board’s previous meeting in June, members heard from leaders of the school bond Community Advisory Committee, who shared a report outlining more than 20 recommendations that address “challenges, opportunities and questions” with the largest proposed bond in Texas history.
The committee said that the district also should reconsider spending $425 million on new CTE centers and instead plan to invest its resources on renovating or rebuilding existing campuses. During Tuesday’s meeting, multiple board members, including Janette Garza Linder and Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, questioned whether having a center in all four divisions was necessary.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the need for four (CTE) facilities,” Auzenne Bandy said. “We have talked a lot about ensuring that our students have access to state-of-the-art equipment, facilities to make sure they’re upskilled for the future. … It seems like we are bearing the burden of maintaining a state-of-the-art CTE facility times four.”
Miles said the new centers, if built, would help increase the number of students in HISD who have easy access to CTE programs that lead to high-wage careers and are prepared for college or career success after graduation.
He said HISD is building three new CTE centers because it’s not financially feasible to develop equitable, quality career programs at all the district’s high schools. The district currently has one career center — the Barbara Jordan Career Center — in the North Division, which would see renovations if the bond is approved.
“We have an obligation to help our students to be in the best position possible once they graduate, whether it’s going to college… (or) whether they pursue the marketplace with the high-skill, high-demand, high-wage jobs,” Miles said. “That is the challenge that we have.”
See here and here for some background. There’s more in this story about “no trust, no bond” and concerns about “co-locating” certain schools, which some people fear is a prelude to closing them. I don’t want to get into all that, I just want to say that I’m increasingly convinced that the CTE proposal is gilding the lily and it should be removed. Part of that is the feeling that the proposal is a back door way of expanding vocational education without having a proper policy discussion, and part of it is the belief that Mike Miles’ spending priorities remain out of whack, at least to me. Whether that will be reflected in the Board’s actions is not clear. They had some “concerns” about the budget as well, but didn’t do anything about it. I’ll keep my expectations low, thanks.