Education
BY WESLEY GARDNER
Humble ISD trustees opted to keep a contract with the Memorial Hermann Community Bene t Corp. that will provide free health care to thousands of students. The board tabled a vote to terminate the contract due to its inclusion of family planning services Sept. 12. Trustees then voted 5-2 in favor of keeping the contract Oct. 17, with trustees Chris Parker and Michael Grabowski dissenting. The contract—initially approved in November 2021—stipulates the district will build a space for the clinic at Humble High School that would then be sta ed and operated by Memorial Hermann. Due to construction delays, the contract was revisited Sept. 12 with a measure to build a temporary space for the clinic while the permanent location is completed. Humble ISD trustees approve free clinic
Those opposed
A ected campuses The clinic would serve students at six schools.
Guy M. Sconzo Early College High School
North Bend Elementary School River Pines Elementary School
“On one hand, we are saying the only protected way to be intimate is to abstain, but on the other hand, we’re saying, ‘But if you want to,
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Humble High School
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Lakeland Elementary School
Ross Sterling Middle School
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here’s birth control.’” CHRIS PARKER, TRUSTEE
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W I L L C L A Y T
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“I’m basically against anything extraneous to the core mission of Humble ISD, and that core mission is educating our children. ... We don’t need a clinic to distract from our primary mission.” MICHAEL GRABOWSKI, TRUSTEE
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Clinic location
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SOURCE: HUMBLE ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
Why it matters
What’s next
HISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen said parents would be required to annually opt in or out of every possible health care ser- vice. Several trustees expressed concern over the inclusion of family planning services, which can include birth control.
Immunizations
Physicals
Health screenings
District o cials noted construction timelines for both the temporary and permanent clinic spaces will be determined following negotiations with Memorial Hermann Community Bene t Corp.
Family planning services
Health education
Individual and group counseling
Acute minor injury and illness treatment
SOURCES: HUMBLE ISD, MEMORIAL HERMANN COMMUNITY BENEFIT CORP. COMMUNITY IMPACT
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