Tag Archives: HISD

Superintendant House speaks about the looming TEA takeover

Posted on March 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Not much one can say in this position. Superintendent Millard House II said it’s business as usual in the state’s largest school system until the Texas Education Agency pulls the trigger on its rumored takeover plan. He used the start … Continue reading →

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So it looks like that TEA takeover of HISD is going to happen

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Mayor Sylvester Turner sounded alarm bells Wednesday when he announced that he has heard from multiple sources that the state intends to take over Houston ISD as early as next week. “I’m talking to legislators, and what they’re saying … Continue reading →

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HISD facing budget cuts

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be a rough couple of years. Amid declining enrollment and a looming $215 million deficit, the Houston ISD is eyeing budget cuts that would slash funding to the central administration and cut campus budgets, especially at high schools. The … Continue reading →

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January 2023 campaign finance reports: HISD

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: City of Houston, Harris County. While I did July reports for Harris County and the city of Houston, I last rounded up HISD finance reports a year ago. As with the city it is now election season, so let’s … Continue reading →

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HISD in TEA limbo

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

No one knows how long this might take. Houston ISD is in limbo as the Texas Education Agency weighs how to proceed with a possible takeover of the state’s largest school system allowed under a recent Texas Supreme Court ruling. … Continue reading →

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UT bans TikTok on campus WiFi

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This feels like a bit of an overreaction to me, but we’ll see if others follow suit. The University of Texas at Austin has blocked access to the video-sharing app TikTok on its Wi-Fi and wired networks in response to … Continue reading →

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SCOTx removes injunction blocking TEA takeover of HISD

Posted on January 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what happens next, but there’s a lot more of this to play out. The Texas Supreme Court cleared the way Friday for the state to potentially take control of the Houston Independent School District, which state education … Continue reading →

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HISD asked to hold off on redistricting

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There are still concerns about the proposed map. Community members and advocates are asking the Houston ISD board to redraw its redistricting plans to keep communities in southwest Houston together so that the votes of Latinos and immigrants are not … Continue reading →

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More information about HISD redistricting, please

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A reasonable ask. Several local nonprofit and advocacy groups penned a letter asking Houston ISD to postpone its decision on how to redraw trustee district boundaries. Initially, the board was set to vote on the plan Thursday, according to a … Continue reading →

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HISD to get funding for electric school buses

Posted on December 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. Houston Independent School District is hopping on the city’s net-zero carbon emissions bus, so to speak, thanks to more than $6.2 million in funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. The funds are part of the EPA’s Clean … Continue reading →

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A too-early look at who’s running for Houston city offices in 2023

Posted on November 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Because it’s never not election season. With the midterm elections behind us, city election season is now heating up. Next November, Houston will elect a new mayor, a new controller and 16 City Council members. The campaigns actually got underway long before … Continue reading →

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HISD redistricting is on the docket

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Already happening, in fact. Houston ISD plans to redraw the boundary lines for its nine school board trustees based on population changes reflected in the latest U.S. Census. HISD officials emphasized that the changes only impact voting, not what schools … Continue reading →

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More on hoax school shooter reports

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know when this ends, but I continue to be worried that they will cause a major problem eventually. This year has seen a significant number of hoax calls across the country. In the three weeks between mid-September and … Continue reading →

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Math test scores took a hit during the pandemic

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The decline started before the pandemic, but kept on going from there. Students in Houston and across the nation showed “appalling and unacceptable” declines on the 2022 Nation’s Report Card, adding to mounting evidence that the pandemic impacted young people … Continue reading →

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Reading and writing and DNA kits…

Posted on October 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. I just don’t know. Texas public school systems are set to distribute DNA and fingerprint identification kits for K-8 students to parents who wish to participate. The state Legislature passed a law in spring 2021 requiring the … Continue reading →

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SCOTx to rule on the HISD takeover lawsuit

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This feels like something from another era. The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments on a yearslong case over whether the Texas Education Agency has the authority to remove all of the Houston school district’s board members and temporarily … Continue reading →

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Now we’re dealing with hoax shootings

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A new thing we need to be prepared for. Texas and other states have experienced hoax shootings, but experts say these threats shouldn’t be taken lightly. Research shows that if someone is going to commit a mass shooting there is … Continue reading →

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The active shooter hoax at our neighborhood school

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This made for a super eventful Tuesday afternoon. Police and panicked parents scrambled to Heights High School Tuesday afternoon, in frantic response to a false report that a gunman had shot 10 people in a room on the 2,400-student Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Elsewhere in Houston, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The one big question DPS still hasn’t answered about Uvalde

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib gets at something that I’ve mentioned a couple of times. Ever since the Uvalde elementary school shooting left 19 students and two teachers dead, blame for the delayed response has been thrust on local law enforcement. The school … Continue reading →

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The proposed HISD charter partnership policy change

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have a lot of time to dig into this, but there are a couple of things I wanted to touch on. Parents, education advocates and a group of Houston elected officials including three Houston ISD trustees on Monday … Continue reading →

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First school ratings since 2019 released

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All in all, not too bad. But for poorer schools and school districts, it remains a very hard go. The Texas Education Agency on Monday released its first public school ratings in three years and despite pandemic interruptions, the number … Continue reading →

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HISD buys stuff for its police

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Okay, but I hope the plan to deal with an active shooter has more than this in it. Houston ISD trustees Thursday evening approved a measure to buy 200 rifles, ammunition and 200 ballistic shields for the district’s police department, … 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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How would HISD’s police respond to an active shooter incident?

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a question we would all rather not have to think about, but this is the world we live in. And at this time, the answer that Superintendent Millard House gave to that question was not reassuring. Houston ISD’s police … Continue reading →

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HISD approves its budget

Posted on June 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

First one for the new Superintendent. Houston ISD trustees on Thursday unanimously approved a $2.2 billion budget that will give teacher raises some have called long overdue and fund the upcoming school year when the district is expected to begin … Continue reading →

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Paxton threatens HISD over its COVID sick leave policy

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We live in such stupid times. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Republicans in the Legislature are taking aim at Houston ISD, arguing that the district’s COVID sick day policy violates state law. This academic year, Houston ISD is offering 10 … Continue reading →

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Superintendent House backs off a key piece of his budget plan

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds like he heard the concerns. Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II on Wednesday said he would scrap a plan that would have centralized the funding of specific positions and programs, instead asking his administrators to come up with a … Continue reading →

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Maybe not so fast on the HISD budget stuff

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m OK with this. The Houston Independent School District may reconsider proposed budget changes that would have centralized the funding of certain positions and programs, a top district official told principals Monday. “Our cabinet team is revisiting the budget and … Continue reading →

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More on the HISD budget plan

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Trustees make first contact with the Superintendent’s plans. More than a month after Houston ISD Superintendent Millard House II unveiled a strategic plan aimed at making the district more equitable, trustees still have unanswered questions about how to pay for it and concerns about whether … Continue reading →

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January 2022 campaign finance reports: HISD

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: City of Houston HISD campaign finance reports are almost always less sexy than city of Houston reports, but we just had some expensive races last year, so let’s see where all the current Trustees are with their finances. Elizabeth … Continue reading →

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Appeals court upholds school district mask mandates

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe not the most timely ruling ever, but still nice. An appellate court on Thursday sided with Texas school districts in their dispute with state officials over mask mandates, which numerous school systems have already lifted as pandemic conditions have eased. The … Continue reading →

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HISD’s budget plan

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

From the op-ed pages, a few words from Superintendent Millard House. During a listening session at Chavez High School last September, a mother told me in tears that her child had to travel an hour each way to reach a … Continue reading →

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More school districts dropping mask mandates

Posted on March 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Unsurprising. Some of Texas’ biggest school districts are lifting mask mandates for students just weeks before spring break. Houston Independent School District, the state’s largest district, and Dallas ISD announced Monday that they would not require students to wear masks. … Continue reading →

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HISD lifts its mask mandate

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A bit earlier than expected. The Houston Independent School District will lift its mask mandate Tuesday, no longer requiring the use of face coverings at all facilities and buildings, district officials said Monday. The change in policy at Houston ISD … Continue reading →

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