Tag Archives: HISD Board of Trustees

HISD tightens ethics rules

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Houston school board agreed Thursday to tighten its ethics rules to prevent trustees from meeting with vendors and from accepting certain campaign donations during open bids. […] Board members would not be able to attend meetings with vendors … Continue reading →

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The $25,000 question

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What the hell? A $25,000 campaign contribution to a Houston school board member normally would raise eyebrows for its size. Add in the fact that the donation was not listed in the trustee’s financial disclosure forms, and the five-figure check … Continue reading →

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Interview with Paula Harris

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We close the week with HISD Board President and District IV Trustee Paula Harris, who is service her first term on the Board. Harris has a degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M and has worked as an engineer and … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ramiro Fonseca

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Opposing Trustee Manuel Rodriguez in District III is Ramiro Fonseca. Fonseca is the program manager of Minority Male Initiative at HCC, where he has also been a financial aid associate. He has also served as President of the Houston Hispanic … Continue reading →

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Interview with Manuel Rodriguez

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Trustee Manuel Rodriguez was first elected to serve District III in 2003. Rodriguez is a businessman and longtime education activist who has served as the Board President and currently serves as its Vice President. (See also School Zone’s Q&A with … Continue reading →

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Interview with Juliet Stipeche

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is Trustee Juliet Stipeche, whose campaign webpage is here. She won a special election in 2010 for the Trustee seat in District VIII that was vacated by Diana Davila. Stipeche is an attorney and a graduate of HISD … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rhonda Skillern-Jones

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We now shift to HISD and HCC Trustee races, which will take us through the end of the interview series. To start off, I bring you a conversation with Rhonda Skillern-Jones, who will succeed Carole Mims Galloway as the Trustee … Continue reading →

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HISD considers revamping ethics rules

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This all seems like a good idea. Houston school trustees, who now may accept campaign cash from anyone at any time, would face new restrictions under a proposal meant to curb improper influence in the school district’s business deals. The … Continue reading →

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My overview of the 2011 election

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Note: I was asked to write a guest post at BOR to summarize the 2011 Houston elections. I figure if I’m going to put all that effort into something, I may as well use it here, too. It’s mostly familiar … Continue reading →

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Lineup update

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron story that ran in yesterday’s news is now updated online to reflect the fact that CM Melissa Noriega does have two opponents, Brad Batteau and Chris Carmona. I emailed reporter Chris Moran yesterday to ask about that discrepancy, … Continue reading →

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Your 2011 electoral lineup

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There are many candidates running for office this year. Some of them have a better rationale for running than others, but thankfully for them that’s not a requirement. A flurry of late filings to run for city office Wednesday filled … Continue reading →

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Trautman running for HCDE

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And we have our first contested Democratic primary in Harris County for 2012 as Diane Trautman has announced her intent to run for Harris County Department of Education Trustee in At Large #3. Here’s her Facebook page for that. She … Continue reading →

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We have a contested HISD election

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

School Zone: Houston ISD school board president Paula Harris is the first incumbent to draw an opponent in the November elections. Arturo “Art” Huerta — who, according to the board office, is a parent of a child at Lanier Middle … Continue reading →

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Please place the blame where it belongs

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Stories like this concern me. Public opinion of the Houston Independent School District plummeted this year amid severe state budget cuts, while support of the superintendent also dropped, according to a new survey. Among parents surveyed this spring, 54 percent … Continue reading →

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HISD to hire back some teachers

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

More good news. More than 300 teachers and other educators in the Houston Independent School District have been rehired since the massive round of layoffs in the spring, according to newly released data. Additional HISD teachers could get their jobs … Continue reading →

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Update on HISD and HCC finance reports

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I had mentioned before that it was hard to find campaign finance reports for HISD and HCC Trustees. I now have some updated information about this, so I wanted to share it with you. First, HISD Trustee Anna Eastman (who … Continue reading →

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The other races

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the city of Houston races, I am trying to follow the HISD and HCC Trustee elections as well. I say “trying” because there’s just no information out there that I can find. For one thing, though there … Continue reading →

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The 2011 interview season has begun

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As of this week, I will begin interviewing candidates for the 2011 elections. At the top of the site, you can see the 2011 Election page, where I will be keeping track of interviews, endorsements, campaign finance reports, and possibly … Continue reading →

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HISD adopts its budget

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No tax increase, at least not at this time. Students in the Houston Independent School District can expect to see larger class sizes and fewer teachers, librarians and elective courses next year under the spending plan that trustees approved Thursday. … Continue reading →

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No more cuts for HISD, for now

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the HISD Board of Trustees had originally set its budget based on the initial House appropriations, which cut almost $8 billion from public schools. The budget that’s in the works now would “only” cut $4 billion, so … Continue reading →

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HISD rejects uniform start time

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I must say, I’m glad to see this. The Houston school board Thursday rejected a cost-cutting plan to change campus bell schedules next year after families complained about the disruption to their daily routines and their children’s sleep habits. Objections … Continue reading →

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HISD contemplates a tax increase

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not saying it explicitly yet, but the inference is clear. Houston ISD board president Paula Harris said today that raising property taxes, dipping into the district’s savings account and suing the state over school finance inequities are all possibilities. … Continue reading →

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HISD to vote on changing school start and end time changes

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Those of you with kids in HISD schools, take note. To save an estimated $1.2 million, HISD officials are considering standardizing the times that schools start and end, prompting protests from parents worried about teenagers nodding off in class or … Continue reading →

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Vote on school finance today

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday night, the Lege finally reached an agreement on school finance, which is to say on how to distribute the $4 billion in cuts to public education to the school districts. Today the Lege gets to vote on that … Continue reading →

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Where we stand on redistricting

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With final passage of SB31 and HB150, the Senate and House redistricting bills, the Lege has done three of its four redistricting-related tasks. There’s still a pretty big one not yet done, however, and it’s not looking like they’ll get … Continue reading →

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HISD does its redistricting

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t get much easier than this. Houston ISD trustees today approved a preliminary plan to redistrict their positions in response to changing demographics. The plan, now available for public comment, generated no controversy among the Houston Independent School District board … Continue reading →

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HISD approves tougher teacher evaluation plan

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have some concerns about this. Teachers in the Houston Independent School District next year will face tougher job evaluations that grade them on their students’ test scores under a nationally watched plan that trustees approved Thursday. The 7-2 vote … Continue reading →

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HISD gets ready to roll out bus ads

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Last year, I noted that the HISD Board of Trustees had approved a plan to allow advertising on its school buses. They are now finally ready to get this going. HISD has partnered with Steep Creek Media to offer advertising … Continue reading →

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HISD redistricting on the horizon

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is likely to be a lot less contentious than other map-drawing exercises we’ve seen, but no redistricting exercise is ever completely bloodless. Gene Locke of Andrews Kurth told [HISD] trustees they should have a plan to submit to the … Continue reading →

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HISD contemplates different start and end times for school days

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you have kids in HISD schools, you should check this out. That dropoff and pickup schedule you’re used to may be different next fall. Nothing has been voted on yet, so take a look and give your feedback to … Continue reading →

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Feeling the Love

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good news for at least one previously endangered school in HISD. Four elementary schools in the Houston Independent School District could close under a proposal Superintendent Terry Grier revealed this morning. Under the plan, which the school board must approve, … Continue reading →

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HISD lays off teachers, discusses school closures

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We knew this was coming. There may yet be more of it to come. Officials with the Houston Independent School District announced Tuesday that about 730 teachers have been notified they won’t have jobs next year — because of budget … Continue reading →

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HISD cuts 277 jobs

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more of this to follow. The Houston school district will have fewer bus drivers, construction workers, finance employees and other staff next year under budget cuts the board approved on Thursday. Trustees, expecting a severe shortfall in … Continue reading →

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HIDS community conversations about possible school closures

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the HISD news page: HISD has scheduled a series of community conversations to discuss the possibility of closing four small elementary schools. The district administration is faced with making some difficult budget decisions to cover an expected $171 million … Continue reading →

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