Nearly 400 Harris County schools could move to higher-risk flood zones, according to new maps released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The new maps dramatically expand Harris County’s 100-year and 500-year floodplains, moving hundreds of schools and other critical facilities into higher-risk flood designations. Experts say affected school districts — including Cy-Fair, Houston and Pasadena ISDs — could face growing flood insurance costs, expensive mitigation projects and tighter limits on how they build or expand campuses. The maps could prompt school leaders to rethink how they build, make facilities more resilient and even which campuses to close if enrollment declines.
The increased risk for schools is also significant because the campuses often serve as community hubs and as critical facilities during disasters. When they close or are damaged by flooding, entire communities can lose access to education, shelter or services, Avantika Gori, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, said.
“Even smaller floods can have a significant economic impact in the sense of disruption,” Gori said. “We might sustain a lot more damage to our critical facilities, and rebuilding is extremely costly … specifically for schools.”
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For years, school districts have had to deal with rising property insurance prices for flood damage. Insurance costs for districts have increased by 44% statewide since 2020, according to the Texas Education Agency.
HISD — the state’s largest district — has $7.52 billion in public property across more than 300 square miles. This month, its state-appointed Board of Managers approved a $22.6 million contract for wind, hail, flood and earthquake insurance.
Cy-Fair ISD said it has seen flood-mitigation costs and insurance expenses rise in the past decade due to the increasing frequency and severity of catastrophic flooding in the region. Between last school year and this year, its flood insurance premium went up about $1,000 to $59,359.
“The district is still awaiting clarity on how Harris County’s new draft flood maps may affect future premiums,” Cy-Fair ISD said in a statement.
Cy-Fair ISD purchases flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program, which is federally subsidized and helps reduce the financial impact.
As premiums rise, more districts are getting insurance with high deductibles, according to Dan Huberty, CEO of the education consulting firm MoakCasey and former GOP lawmaker from Humble. That means districts would pay more out-of-pocket for flood damage before insurance kicks in — which could become an issue if a district already has budget deficits.
Huberty, who also served on Humble ISD’s school board, said some districts are setting aside money in their fund balance to prepare for emergency situations.
Duncan Klussman, a clinical associate professor of education at University of Houston and former Spring Branch ISD superintendent, said running a school district comes with many operational costs to keep facilities running and in good condition — an area he said is not talked about much by lawmakers when it comes to education funding.
He said it’s likely that schools will need more financial support to keep schools prepared for flooding, especially as more move to higher flood risk zones.
“You’ve got a whole operational side of running a school district,” Klussman said. “It’s like a major business, and you have that whole operational side … you just don’t hear that often being talked about.”
In 2025, state lawmakers approved $1.2 billion for a newly-created fund to spend on “fixed” costs that districts must cover, like payroll, fuel and insurance.
Huberty said the fact lawmakers included insurance expenses shows just how much they have increased and how schools may need more money to pay for it.
“As we go into hurricane season coming up again, districts are having to prepare for that,” Huberty said. “And I think it will prove out that there probably is a request or need for additional resources to pay for those specific items.”
See here for some background. There’s only so much that can be done about where the schools are now. The focus needs to be on making them as safe and flood-resilient as possible and planning new construction in safer areas. And absolutely getting the damn Legislature to put up more money for the districts, who are bearing all of these higher costs with no margin to deal with them and a state government that’s perfectly happy to let them slowly starve. Here once again is my reminder that nothing will change until the people in charge are changed. This year looks like our best chance in a long time to make some real progress on that. You know what to do.