HISD proposes $1.9 billion bond to upgrade high schools

[Icehouse]

I would vote for it.

http://blog.chron.com/k12zone/2012/0...-high-schools/ Most of Houston’s aging high schools would be rebuilt or renovated under HISD Superintendent Terry Grier’s plan to seek voter approval for a $1.9 billion bond issue, the largest in recent history for a Texas district. Grier’s proposal, unveiled Thursday, would phase in a tax rate increase of about 7 cents, costing the owner of an average-priced home an extra $99 a year in 2017. The first hike would go into effect in 2014, raising the average bill by $29. The school board is scheduled to vote on the plan in August. It would appear on a crowded November ballot that includes city, community college and Metro referendums, seen as potential threats to passage. “I say this and I mean this with my soul: This bond could transform Houston as a city,” Grier said Thursday. “I’m a former high school principal. I know the difference a high school makes in a community. Putting a brand-new high school in the middle of a community is absolutely a strategy to jump start the economy there.” Grier said his recommendations are based on an outside study by the construction services company Parsons. The proposal includes replacing eight high schools: Booker T. Washington, Furr, Lee, Madison, Sharpstown, Sterling, Yates and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. HSPVA would be built on a new site downtown. Bellaire, Lamar, Sam Houston and Westbury high schools would be mostly rebuilt. Bellaire, which houses the most students, is the largest single project, at $117 million. Austin, Eastwood Academy, Milby, Waltrip and Worthing high schools would have their facilities replaced and significantly renovated. Renovations would take place at Barbara Jordan, Davis, DeBakey, Jones, Kashmere and Scarborough high schools; at Sharpstown International middle and high school; and at the all-boys and all-girls schools, which opened in 2011. New North and South Early College High Schools, which allow students to take classes at Houston Community College, would be built. Five elementary schools would be replaced: Askew, Condit, Kelso, MacGregor and Parker. Four schools would be expanded to become K-8 campuses: Garden Oaks, Pilgrim Academy, Wharton and Gordon. A new Mandarin Chinese language immersion program will open in Gordon in the coming school year. Dowling Middle would get a new building, and Grady Middle an addition. Renovations and additions would take place at K. Smith Elementary, and Tijerina Elementary would be replaced. A new elementary school on the district’s west end would be built to reduce overcrowding in other schools. The proposal includes $100 million for technology; $35 million for renovations to middle school restrooms; and $42.7 million for athletic improvements. In the last two decades, the largest bond issue by a Texas district was Dallas ISD’s $1.4 billion in 2002, according to data compiled by the The Bond Buyer newspaper and Ipreo, an investment consulting firm. HISD’s $1.9 billion proposal would the eighth-largest nationally, behind the Los Angeles and San Diego school districts. HISD’s last bond issue, for $805 million in 2002, passed by only 51 percent of the vote. It was firmly opposed strongly by leaders of the black community. Early polling suggests that HISD could pass a bond in November, according to researchers from Rice University and the University of Houston. “Our consensus is, this is a bond that could probably pass and pass now, as opposed to a year or two or three from now when maybe the economy is different,” said Bob Stein, a Rice political science professor who organized a telephone survey of registered voters in late May and early June on behalf of HISD.

[Classic]

One of the projects with this is a total swap of the HVAC systems in favor of more efficient systems. The load this would take off the local power grid is supposed to be quite a bit. Great use of tax payer dollars that would allow contractors a 'stimulus' of sort to fix & update the aging infrastructure. Good project all around that would put a lot of people to work.

[RedRedemption]

Inb4 Hightop DESTROY GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS!
LIBERAL DEVILS!

[DaDakota]

How about a pool of money to give bonuses to the best teachers?

DD

[tallanvor]

Originally Posted by DaDakota How about a pool of money to give bonuses to the best teachers? DD

Unions would never allow this. Ever.

Obama proposed spending additional money on effective teachers in up to 150 additional school districts, fulfilling a campaign promise that once earned him boos from members of the National Education Association. “Good teachers will be rewarded with more money for improved student achievement, and asked to accept more responsibilities for lifting up their schools,” he said in a wide-ranging education speech before a meeting of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Obama’s embrace of merit pay won’t go over well among a group that often provides key funding and foot soldiers for Democratic campaigns. Teachers’ unions say merit pay causes teachers to compete against each other, rather than collaborate, and is unfair to those who work in disadvantaged areas where it can be harder to boost student performance.

[FranchiseBlade]

Originally Posted by tallanvor Unions would never allow this. Ever.

spoken by someone who doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.

If the only way to judge is based on test scores then it's faulty, encourages teaching to the test, cheating etc. In addition some tests are not created equally across the board. If a student in 4th grade takes a test designed at the 4th grade level, then when that same student gets to 5th grade and thanks to a design flaw the test there is created at a 6th grade level, scores will almost always go down. This also encourages the best teachers to leave schools where students need the most help because if they teach at already high achieving schools the kids will be more likely to perform well on their tests and earn the bonuses.

The Union will never agree to bonuses under that kind of criteria. However the union in Los Angeles is currently working on a way to do evaluations where student test scores are a part of the evaluation, but not the total of the evaluation. So the Union is actually working on a way that would allow bonuses for student acheivement.

[tallanvor]

delete

[DaDakota]

Originally Posted by tallanvor Unions would never allow this. Ever.

I hate that crap, then make it a school wide bonus for brining up the overall school situation....and every teacher gets a bump.

DD

[FranchiseBlade]

Originally Posted by DaDakota I hate that crap, then make it a school wide bonus for brining up the overall school situation....and every teacher gets a bump. DD

I edited my post after tal edited his. What you've said is a good idea, but there should be a way to hold teachers accountable as well. It's important.

I like your idea of the whole school going up, then all teachers get a bonus. That will help teachers who teach grades like Kinder that don't take the standardized tests. Otherwise they don't have a chance at earning bonuses. Your idea also would encourage teachers working together and help attract teachers to low performing schools in order to have a greater opportunity for improvement.

[HombreDeHierro]

is anyone else noticing something weird?

"HISD’s last bond issue, for $805 million in 2002, passed by only 51 percent of the vote. It was firmly opposed strongly by leaders of the black community."


dafuq? Why would they oppose something that helps their own community?

[tallanvor]

Originally Posted by HombreDeHierro is anyone else noticing something weird? "HISD’s last bond issue, for $805 million in 2002, passed by only 51 percent of the vote. It was firmly opposed strongly by leaders of the black community." dafuq? Why would they oppose something that helps their own community?

That money comes from somewhere.

[bigtexxx]

Originally Posted by HombreDeHierro is anyone else noticing something weird? "HISD’s last bond issue, for $805 million in 2002, passed by only 51 percent of the vote. It was firmly opposed strongly by leaders of the black community." dafuq? Why would they oppose something that helps their own community?

It's a lot of money for a lot of people

[JunkyardDwg]

Under the Aspire (HISD) program, teachers and staff from high performing schools or schools that show the most gain in student achievement do recieve bonuses based on school wide success. The difference is that the non-core teachers have a ceiling as to how much bonus pay they can receive, while the core teachers can earn several thousand more. But the whole faculty does earn something.

The problem is that merit pay is tied exclusively to standardized tests.

It is interesting that tax hikes were and are off the table when it comes to saving teacher's jobs, but now they are not. Schools in Houston definitely need upgrade, but perhaps this plan is a bit too ambitious given the economic uncertainty of the times.

[diogenes]

Originally Posted by Icehouse I would vote for it.

Being an engineering consultant specifically in the education market this is good news. If it passes it would put a lot of people to work. If I'm not mistaken HISD requires all of their schools to be energy efficient LEED certified buildings. The down side is that I believe HISD requires the architects/engineers to be a minority owned firm which is a different argument.

[RedRedemption]

Originally Posted by bigtexxx It's a lot of money for a lot of people

Education is always worth it.

[JD88]

Originally Posted by tallanvor Unions would never allow this. Ever.

This. Same thing in Louisville. A proposal to widen the criteria of evaluation in an attempt to give bonuses to the best performing teachers was shot down due to the teachers union.

The argument is inner city schools, with inner city kids, would never have good teachers simply because they all move to where the kids are more dedicated to class work.

[DFWRocket]

Originally Posted by JD88 The argument is inner city schools, with inner city kids, would never have good teachers simply because they all move to where the kids are more dedicated to class work.

yes and no.

Currently in many places, schools in upper and upper-middle class neighborhoods pay teachers a lot less than schools in lower income areas. So if a teacher is interested in higher pay, they teach in lower-income areas..if they want work-satisfaction over pay..they work in higher income areas.

It took my wife 15 years at her upper-middle class school to achieve the same income level teachers start at in other districts. But she has excellent parental support which translates to excellent student performance.
Merit pay is horribly unfair because teachers in lower districts have a much harder job due to the lack of interest in parents & students.

[DaDakota]

I heard from one of the teachers in our district that 2/3rds of the staff in any district is administration, why is it not 2/3rds are teachers?

DD

[Deckard]

It's hard to get HISD bonds passed. The vast majority of White students go to some sort of private school. During the 2009-2010 school year, "White" students made up 7.8% of the student population. I didn't make that up. So there isn't a "dog in the hunt" for short-sighted White Houston voters (who are more likely to get out and vote, ordinarily), and HISD keeps spiraling down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston...chool_District

During the 1990's, Houston voters defeated a $390 million dollar bond proposal, and HISD ended up farming out 250 students to 3 private schools for a while as a result (according to HISD). I'll be shocked if this passes. I hope it does, but I'm not optimistic.

[C-Mo]

I think HISD is just too big. If the district had fewer schools, one would think it could be more efficient in its use of funds. But instead HISD may get even bigger if they decide to merge North Forest ISD with them.