Tag Archives: Spring Branch

The continuing problems of At Large-only school boards

Posted on March 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing take a look at the big picture. In Katy and several Houston-area districts, school boards have employed an election system — known as “at-large districts” — that has contributed to most trustees living in wealthier neighborhoods, a Houston … Continue reading →

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Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit on hold as federal courts screw around with VRA

Posted on December 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Frustrating. A federal lawsuit that aims to change Spring Branch ISD’s election system to bring more representation to the school board will likely be delayed for months, pending decisions in several other cases that could impact the legality of the … Continue reading →

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A long look at Spring Branch ISD

Posted on June 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Landing goes deep. With only a week left before the May 6 election, school-board candidate David Lopez and a team of volunteers set out to block walk in the Spring Branch neighborhoods north of Interstate 10, trying to accomplish … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spring Branch ISD versus “James and the Giant Peach”

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Note: The following is a guest post, written by my friend Diana Martinez Alexander. I occasionally run guest posts, some of which I solicit and some of which are sent to me. Southlake. Garland. Frisco. Now Spring Branch is pushing … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Spring Branch ISD to discuss a book ban today

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t post stuff like this often – it’s not really my remit, and timeliness usually works against me – but this one really annoyed me, so here it is. Via Facebook: PLEASE CONSIDER SPEAKING ON TUESDAY @ 1PM! (If … Continue reading →

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Katy ISD challenged over at large districts

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This was from before Christmas but I didn’t have a chance to write about it until now. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund sent a letter Tuesday to Katy ISD accusing the district of disenfranchising Black and Latino voters … Continue reading →

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It’s not a teacher shortage yet

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But you can see one on the horizon. School districts across the Houston region are trying to fill thousands of teacher vacancies before most will be welcoming students back to classrooms in the coming weeks. A review of about 18 area school districts’ job … Continue reading →

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Law firm representing Spring Branch ISD withdraws from redistricting lawsuit

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. The law firm Thompson & Horton LLP has represented Spring Branch ISD in multiple legal matters since 2005. While Thompson & Horton were originally representing SBISD in the Voting Rights Act lawsuit that Virginia Elizondo filed against the district … Continue reading →

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More on the Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good story from KTRK. The unofficial dividing line for the two sides: I-10 running through the district. With two boys in the district, Carla Cooper-Molano has seen the battle scars, and she wants someone on the school board who represents … Continue reading →

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Spring Branch ISD lawsuit

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m late to this, but better late than never/ A former candidate for the Spring Branch ISD school board has filed a lawsuit alleging the district’s election policies are in violation of national laws against voting discrimination. In her complaint, … Continue reading →

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Other May election results

Posted on May 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Roundup style, mostly. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg easily wins a fourth term. Mayor Ron Nirenberg vanquished the ghost of repeat challenger Greg Brockhouse in Saturday’s City election and secured his third term in office with a win of historic … Continue reading →

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May election of interest: Spring Branch ISD

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the May 2021 elections going on – for someone like me in the city of Houston and HISD, there generally isn’t anything for me on the ballot, and there’s been plenty of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2021 | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Some superintendents disagree about school opening delays

Posted on August 20, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It takes all kinds. Superintendents leading 10 Houston-area school districts penned a letter this week opposing Harris County’s recommendations for reopening campuses, arguing that face-to-face instruction should resume earlier than health officials suggest. In their two-page letter, the superintendents say … Continue reading →

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TEA updates its school-opening guidance

Posted on July 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They heard the outcry. Facing growing backlash from teachers, parents and health officials, Texas education officials Friday relaxed a previous order that would have given public schools just three weeks from the start of the fall semester to reopen their … Continue reading →

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We’re about to find out what school might look like this fall

Posted on June 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Education leaders across Houston say they are working to welcome students like Alexis and Jayden back in the fall, but if guidelines released by the Texas Education Agency for in-person summer school are any indication of what’s to … Continue reading →

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Many more school districts are feeling the pinch

Posted on April 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Not just HISD. Not by a long shot. For eight-straight years, Cypress-Fairbanks and Conroe ISDs earned the Texas Smart Schools Award, bestowed on school districts with prudent financial practices and high academic achievement. Now, Cypress-Fairbanks faces a $50 million deficit … Continue reading →

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HISD girds for budget cuts

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to the job, Ken Huewitt. Isn’t this fun? Houston’s deputy superintendent on Thursday presented the school board with the deepest round of proposed budget cuts since 2011, leaving principals to decide between slashing staff, supplies, field trips or other … Continue reading →

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How are those new Chapter 42 regs working?

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A little too soon to tell. Planning and Development Director Patrick Walsh said the changes were designed to make the city competitive with its suburbs by creating more housing options, holding down prices and spurring redevelopment outside the Loop. “It’s … Continue reading →

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School superintendents for Early To Rise

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the press release: (Houston, TX) Today Harris County Superintendents participated in a press conference for the Early to Rise campaign, which is seeking to create a dedicated funding stream to improve the quality of early childhood education through a … Continue reading →

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Still waiting on the new density rules

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

With all that went on last year in Houston, one item that had been on the table was a revision of Chapter 42, to redefine the rules about density and other codes for developers. The planned revisions never made it … Continue reading →

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Class size issues are everywhere

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We know that waiver requests to exceed the 22 student class size limit are way up. But that mandated limit is only for grades K through 4. What about higher grade levels? Patricia Kilday Hart reports that those classrooms are … Continue reading →

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Three things you can do to help save Texas public schools

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

1. First and foremost, make sure you understand the scope of the issue and how it will affect you. Here’s an email that was sent out by the Spring Branch ISD to its parents: Why should you care about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

What school districts may do to respond to the budget cuts

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They may raise taxes: Some school officials also are considering even more unpopular options – increasing property tax rates or eliminating special tax breaks. In some cases, even those moves aren’t expected to raise enough money to plug the worst-case … Continue reading →

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Endorsement eatch: For HCC annexations

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this from Wednesday. In this fall’s elections, voters in the Spring Branch and North Forest Independent School Districts are being asked to approve annexation of their respective districts into the Houston Community College System. We believe the larger region … Continue reading →

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