Add State Rep. Sylvester Turner to the list of people who aren't happy with the HISD bond package.
Construction delays at an Acres Homes school have prompted state Rep. Sylvester Turner to pull his support of the $805 million bond issue that HISD is putting on the Nov. 6 ballot.The roughly $11 million renovation of Williams Middle School, funded by the Houston school district's 2002 bond issue, won't be complete by the start of school Monday. Work remains to be done on the library, gymnasium, auditorium and restrooms, Turner said.
"We're not ready for school," said Turner, D-Houston. "That concerns me and disturbs me."
He said he's afraid the unfinished campus will prompt parents to send their children to better-looking and higher-performing schools in the Aldine and Klein districts.
While conceding that work at Williams is about two months behind, HISD officials said students won't be affected by the construction. They blamed the wet summer for some delays.
"It's a renovation, a major renovation, but the school is ready now," spokesman Terry Abbott said. "The school's in really good shape."
And then there's this press release from the local AFL-CIO:
The Harris County AFL-CIO Council has put its decision "on hold" whether to support the Houston ISD's $805 million bond election set for this November. The AFL-CIO Council did, however, vote to support the Port of Houston's $250 million bond proposal and the Cypress-Fair ISD's $806.9 million bond proposal at the same Council monthly meeting, Wednesday, August 22, 2007."Our first concern," stated Richard Shaw, Secretary-Treasurer, "is that no one from HISD has contacted us to explain the proposal and to ask for our support." We want to hear from Superintendent Abe Saavedra. It was a total surprise and, frankly, a shock that they had called for an election so late in the political season for this November. We had supported their last two bond proposals based upon their promises of prevailing wages that included health benefits and apprenticeship job training.
All public entities, including school districts, are requited to adopt "prevailing wages" that reflect the current construction market wage rates for the crafts. Douglas McGee, President of the Houston Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council had an article published by the Houston Chronicle that detailed the opportunity for the Houston ISD to recruit and train members of the community through the apprenticeship programs of the Houston Community College System (HCCS) to build the schools. The current wage rates adopted by the district are 7 years out of date and do not include apprenticeship classifications. McGee cited a similar community training program in the Los Angeles United School District.
"The HISD Superintendent and the Board have refused to take action on our proposal for current wage rates that include apprenticeship training," continued Shaw. We badly need skilled construction workers and about 42% of HISD student are not completing high school. What's wrong with this picture? Their "college bound culture" is leaving too many students behind and they do not want to train the community for good jobs. Now they are asking for community support with nothing in return for them - like good jobs.
The City of Houston and Harris County both have current wage rates that provide for apprenticeship training and health insurance for the workers. The last three stadiums and the city hotel were constructed with current market wage rates and trained apprentices. The AFL-CIO Council and the Building Trades have met with the Superintendent and some Trustees on many occasions and have submitted numerous written requests and explanations concerning the wage rates and how the apprenticeship programs work through the HCCS.
"Why must the City and the County be the only ones doing any training through apprenticeship programs?," asks Shaw. The HISD is an educational/training institution and our community ought to have a chance to get trained for a good job on their construction sites. HISD's own graduates could enter the HCCS apprenticeship programs and build their neighborhood schools. Such training will fill gaps in the present workforce for skilled craftpersons and for future construction projects on the books now. Let's use these precious bond dollars twice - once to build needed schools and again to train," concluded Shaw.