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HOUSTON - The Houston Independent School District's $4.4 billion bond propositions were not passed by voters, the district said Tuesday night.
The bond, the largest school bond proposal in Texas history, would have gone toward improving school facilities and technology.
At 10 p.m. Tuesday night, HISD said voters did not approve the bond proposal, which was on the ballot as Proposition A and Proposition B. However, votes are still being counted, and all precincts are not yet reporting results.
Proposition A would have allocated $3.96 billion to renovate, rebuild, and expand aging school facilities across the district.
Proposition B would have allowed the district to purchase $440 million in bonds for technology improvements, including updating equipment, systems, and infrastructure to enhance the district’s digital capabilities.
Superintendent Mike Miles released the following statement on Tuesday night:
Dear HISD Community:
As you know, HISD voters did not vote to approve the bond proposal.
As the results came in on Tuesday, I kept thinking about a conversation I had with the Principal at Bonham Elementary School last week. She relayed how hopeful her community was - parents and staff - that the bond would pass. Their crumbling temporary buildings would finally be replaced with a safer, more appropriate facility. Bonham serves some of the highest need students in our community.
They're doing the hard work to improve instruction, and we as a community let them down.
For other families with students in crumbling buildings, I don't need to tell you how badly we needed this bond. These investments should have been made years ago. In fact, we had not planned to advance a bond at all, but once we saw for ourselves the unspeakable conditions at many schools, it became obvious we could not fully transform this District without tackling our failing facilities.
In this instance, the politics of adults beat out the needs of our children. It's unfortunate and wrong, but I want to assure you that it will not limit our ability to do the things that our students need. I know our most effective principals and teachers can reach students even in the worst of facilities, because they've been doing so for more than a year.
Teaching and learning will continue, and we will continue to transform this District for all students.
I cannot promise our aging facilities and systems will never be a barrier to student learning. We will do our best to keep long expired heating and cooling systems running, but on very hot or very cold days, we are likely going to have to close campuses to keep students safe. More frequently, students are going to be forced to learn in conditions that are not ideal, in classrooms that are either too hot or too cold to learn comfortably.
Keeping schools safe will remain our top priority. The HISD Police Department and our Facilities and Maintenance Operations team is constantly searching for grant money, and we will be looking to the State of Texas to provide additional resources for school security. We will make these investments as soon as funds become available.
I will acknowledge, I was very optimistic about this bond proposal. There was a window of time before the board vote when we could have done what prior elected boards and administrations have done - which is to avoid hard choices and hope the future would take care of itself. We chose to go forward, because the conditions in our schools made it obvious - our kids cannot wait.
I believed this bond was a unique opportunity for this community to come together on behalf of its children. I'm sure many of you felt the same and are very disappointed in the result. I share your disappointment, but I also hope you will remain optimistic. Our accomplishments far outweigh our setbacks, and most importantly, we have and will continue to put the needs of our students first."
Sincerely,
F. Mike Miles
HISD Superintendent