Several Houston religious leaders and community members urged voters Thursday to cast their ballots against Houston ISD’s controversial $4.4 billion school bond proposal in the upcoming November election.   During a news conference at Trinity United Methodist Church, leaders of The Metropolitan Organization, an association of Houston churches, said they were opposing an HISD bond for the first time in the group’s 44-year history due largely to the lack of trust and “meaningful input from community members” in developing the measure.  view article

With little data available regarding why employees were quitting their jobs in Houston ISD, a parent decided to do her own digging.  HISD parent Becky Seabrook said she observed a mismatch between what parents were experiencing, and the district reporting that the vast majority of teachers marked that they planned to return next academic year on its Intent to Return Survey. She also felt a disconnect between community conversations and the administration claiming that the educators leaving were not quality teachers. view article

As early voting begins for the November general election, a group of Houston Democratic politicians said Monday that they're urging potential voters to reject Houston ISD’s $4.4 billion school bond. In a brief press conference outside the West Gray Recreation Center, four Houston Democrats said HISD voters should say no to the district’s first school bond in 12 years largely due to a lack of trust in state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles and the HISD Board of Managers, as well as concerns over future transparency, accountability and oversight of the measure. view article

Frisco school officials want voters to approve more than $1 billion in bonds for a new middle school building, renovations and technology upgrades as well as a tax increase to pay for teacher raises and cover other budget gaps. The bond propositions — B, C and D — total would pay for improvements at 20 aging schools, bolster Frisco ISD’s technology infrastructure and build a $11.2 million tennis center. The bonds, if approved, would not result in a tax increase, according to the district. view article

Houston voters will decide on a $4.4 billion bond proposal from the Houston Independent School District in the November election. Voters on Nov. 5 will need to decide whether to approve or reject the bond proposal which is broken down into two separate propositions. Proposition A asks voters to approve the issuance of $3.96 billion in bonds, aimed at addressing critical needs in the district’s infrastructure. view article

Corpus Christi ISD has a plan to build and renovate two new consolidated elementary schools and tackle projects at King, Moody and Veterans Memorial high schools. It’s up to the voters to decide if the district can take on $135.4 million of debt to complete the projects. If approved, the bond measure will not change the tax rate. view article

Conroe ISD has put its $1.9 billion bond to quick work after voters gave the green light in November 2023. On Tuesday, the Conroe ISD School Board approved the guaranteed maximum contract price for renovation projects at five different existing campuses. In total, the board approved approximately $107 million across three contracts. Safety and security were also addressed in all of the improvement proposals. The renovations are expected to be completed before 2026. view article

This November, Houston voters will decide on a $4.4 billion bond proposal from Houston Independent School District to address school infrastructure needs. The bond, if approved, would be the largest in Texas history, funding upgrades to heating, air conditioning, and security systems, and expanded education programs. While some support the initiative, others are skeptical, citing concerns over the current state-appointed leadership. view article

Conroe ISD board trustees approved the guaranteed maximum prices for several projects during its Oct. 15 meeting. view article

Round Rock ISD will continue to host a series of bond information events with two more sessions to be held Oct. 21 and 28. view article

As hammers thwacked iron and sparks showered from the scaffolding of Arlington ISD’s newest junior high, Sharpies scribbled against a steel beam. Holding the Sharpies were the Rodriguez family. One wrote to her husband. Two wrote to their son. Three wrote to their father. view article

The bond is the largest of its kind in state history and is expected to cost as much as $8.8 billion when including interest.   view article

Prosper Town Council members approved an additional $411,819 for Lakewood Park construction during an Oct. 8 meeting.  Lakewood Park’s pickleball courts have an existing four-foot fence but residents reached out to request a higher barrier, Parks and Recreation Director Dan Baker said.  The park was initially designed with 76 parking spaces, Baker said. However, updated designs that included splitting the three full-size soccer fields into multiple soccer fields require additional parking to prevent overflow parking in the nearby neighborhoods, he said.  According to a meeting presentation, 14 of the 52 new parking spaces will be added onto Lakewood Park’s existing parking lot. The remaining 38 spaces will be provided through a new parking lot pad next to the other lot. view article

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, on Monday backed a tax rate increase that, if passed, would infuse $41 million annually into the Austin Independent School District. The district said the rate increase, also known as Prop A, would raise teacher pay and reduce the district’s multi-million dollar deficit. view article

As they take to the polls, voters will decide on City View ISD’s proposed big-ticket bond. After polling parents and staff this past spring, needs for a new upper elementary school and general repairs were singled out as the City View ISD Proposition A‘s priorities. view article

Residents of the Willis Independent School District will be voting on more than local officials and the presidential election this November, but whether or not they'd approve of a $115.4-million bond package to upgrade the school district's athletic facilities. view article

East Central ISD is asking local voters to approve a tax increase and three bond issues to help the district upgrade aged sports facilities and build new school facilities as it grapples with exploding enrollment, which is expected to double in the next eight years. view article

When was the last time Harris County's Democratic and Republican parties came together on an issue? "Was it before the Earth was formed?" former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner joked. "Look, it's very, very rare, especially on a bond program." view article

Trustees in El Paso Independent School District unanimously approved spending more than $2 million of taxpayers’ money on a bond “strategist,” even as the district faces declining enrollment, school closures, and an $18.5 million budget deficit. view article

Fort Bend ISD could nix several plans promised in its 2023 bond proposal — including a new elementary school and transportation facility — as several projects remained millions of dollars over budget Monday. In a board workshop prefaced by a drumline, choir and informal roundtable tour in the Willowridge High School cafeteria, Fort Bend ISD board members were tasked with more somber prospects of considering $57 million in cuts in bond overages. No decision was made, but Fort Bend ISD administration recommended canceling plans to build an elementary school, reducing the scope of a planned natatorium and pushing the construction of a new transportation facility to a future bond. view article

Marta Rivas, principal of Frank Black Middle School, has been losing sleep for weeks worrying about how the campus would handle a campus-wide lockdown in an emergency. The 75-year-old campus in Oak Forest consists of five buildings with doors that open directly to the outdoors. Although the doors remain locked, Rivas said 1,370 Houston ISD students move between the buildings at least four times daily, some walking on sidewalks directly bordering the visitor parking lot to access their classes or the restroom. view article

In less than a month, Houston area voters will head to the polls and vote on Houston Independent School District’s largest bond proposals in Texas history. But before that happens, KPRC 2 Anchor Candace Burns is sitting down with state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles to learn more about this history-breaking bond proposal. view article

Humble ISD trustees and community members celebrated an Oct. 3 groundbreaking ceremony for a new facility designed to support young adults with disabilities as they transition out of high school. view article

United Independent School District (UISD) has opened a new school on its campus, Clark Elementary. The building, which dates back to the 1980s, has been fully remodeled to include a new multimedia area with computer labs and two playgrounds for students. Clark Elementary will serve 600 students and features 27 classrooms. The renovations were made possible by funds approved in 2013. view article

Bastrop ISD officials are asking for help to name its ninth elementary school, which broke ground Oct. 1. BISD Communications Director Cassandra Balderas said submissions to name the school will be accepted through Oct. 11. view article

The El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees announced the selection of bond strategist services from IN2 Architecture Incorporated. $2.09 million has been allocated for bond strategist services. The district says the strategist services will focus on essential preparatory work such as community engagement, research, and the creation of strategic designs. view article

With less than five weeks until the election, both the Harris County Democratic and Republican parties have publicly come out in opposition to Houston ISD's $4.4 billion bond proposal. The proposal was first drafted in July and will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. If passed, $2.05 billion would go towards rebuilding over 40 aging campuses and renovating many others. $1.35 billion would be spent on safety and security upgrades. This would include removing lead and mold, replacing HVAC systems, and designating a single point of entry for all HISD school buildings. view article

In a small portable building tucked between the rows of buses, scattered workshops and small offices of Arlington ISD’s Support Services Center, Arlington ISD’s school bus drivers take their breaks between routes. It’s where they eat lunch, cool down and warm up, talking loudly over the hum of an overworked AC unit and old vending machines lining the 26-year-old walls. view article

Keller ISD board members voted unanimously to authorize defeasance, or paying down the principal, of debt at their Sept. 26 meeting. The move should save the district an estimated $3.4 million. During his presentation to the board, Chief Operations Officer John Allison said the district worked with its financial advisor, Hilltop Securities, to identify opportunities for savings on interest and sinking debt based on current market conditions. view article

The Forney Independent School District recently hosted a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new middle school, named for A&M-Commerce alums Donald P. (‘73) and Vivian N. (‘11) Themer. The district broke ground on Donald P. and Vivian N. Themer Middle School in 2023. Both Themers and their three sons are Forney ISD alums. view article

When a proposed charter for Houston ISD's bond oversight committee first was drafted in July, it called for the district's superintendent to be the "sole decision maker" for committee appointments. But if Houston voters pass a state-record $4.4 billion bond package in November, that authority is no longer slated to rest with Mike Miles, who has been the target of criticism since he was appointed by the Texas Education Agency before the 2023-24 school year. view article

Waller ISD is investing in the growing Jubilee development in Hockley, purchasing land for two new schools ahead of a $713.5 million bond election that will fund their design and construction, if approved by voters. The recently-purchased 143 acres will become a multi-school site in the Johnson Development community, with a new junior high school and a high school near the intersection of Katy Hockley and Baethe roads, said Waller ISD chief communications officer Sarah Marcus. Earlier this year, the district also purchased land for a new elementary school. view article

The El Paso Independent School District took a step closer to asking voters to approve a bond, as the District's Board approved the hiring of an outside specialist. EPISD will spend $2.09 million to hire IN2 Architecture, Inc. for bond strategic services, helping the district to decide whether or not to put a bond initiative on the ballot. view article

Gingerbread Kids Academy owner Tim Kaminski can easily tick off examples of how tough it is to keep a child care business open more than four years after the pandemic hit. Before COVID-19 came to the United States in 2020, Kaminski had 45 employees and averaged up to 130 children enrolled in each of his two child care centers and after school programs in Fort Bend County. Today, he can only sustain about half that: 70 kids and 22 staff members. This year, the last of emergency COVID-19-related aid to child care providers that kept them up and running ends and many like Kaminski are returning to a very changed economy. view article

The Pflugerville ISD board of trustees discussed several district updates during its regular meeting Sept. 19. Along with information found in the district's administration report for the month. Below are five highlights. The report provided the most recent district STAAR, or State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, data for math, reading/language arts, science and social studies. view article