Education
BY ANGELA BONILLA & EMILY LINCKE
CISD board upholds prior restrictions on 19 books After hours of public comments from students and teachers, and debate among board members regarding the legitimacy of the district’s book review process, the Conroe ISD board of trustees ultimately voted June 18 to uphold prior restric- tions issued on 19 books by its own book review committee. What happened Reconsideration for the 19 book titles was requested by four people, including Andrea Yang, Erin Miller, Stevie Fox and CISD teacher Theresa Newman, who all spoke or issued statements at the meeting. In the discussion, many speakers spoke about how the books were removed due to excerpts being read out loud. The appeals requested reconsideration committee members to read the books as a whole. “I haven’t read these books, and we asked them to implement something that I don’t want to go back and say ‘You did it wrong,’” board President Skeeter Hubert said. “What I want to do is I want to go back and discuss the policy that we put in place.” What they’re saying Although the board voted 5-2 to maintain restrictions on all 19 books, concerns with the district’s book removal policy were highlighted in the discussion between board members. “Through this process, I see some glaring issues that need to be addressed,” Hubert said. “I don’t think the damage is from the policy. I think we need to sit down and look at the procedure and add more librarians,” trustee Melissa Dungan
Conroe ISD names new schools after prominent residents Conroe ISD trustees approved names for three new schools under construction that are funded by the 2023 bond voters approved in November. The school board voted at the June 18 meeting to name schools, including two in The Woodlands area: • Oak Ridge and Caney Creek feeder: Mittie J. Campbell Elementary School • The Woodlands High School feeder: Robert Eissler Elementary School The details When deciding on the names, the board took into consideration the location and names of people in the community. Mittie J. Campbell was the rst African American school principal in CISD. Camp- bell’s name was brought to the attention of the district by the Montgomery County Historical Association. Former state Rep. Rob Eissler previously served as part the CISD board of trustees and the Public Education Committee of the Texas House of Representatives. The background Robert Eissler and Mittie J. Campbell elementary schools are scheduled to open in August 2025.
The 19 books requested for reconsideration were:
• “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson • “Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky • “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Safran Foer • “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi • “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini • “We Are the Ants” by Shaun David Hutchinson • “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley • “Girl in Translation” by Jean Kwok • “Sold” by Patricia McCormick • “The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved” by Toni Morrison • “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens • “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult • “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” by Erika L. Sanchez • “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas • “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. • “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker • “Salvage the Bones” by Jasmine Ward • “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead
SOURCE: CONROE ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
said. “I think there is some room for improvement.” The background At a board meeting March 19, the board decided on a few ways to bring more transparency and faster updates to the reconsideration process. This includes having sta add the reason for a book removal to the list on the website or provid- ing a 15-day window for challenges to be submit- ted to a book removal.
Tomball ISD 202425 budget falls $9.1M short On June 18, Tomball ISD’s board of trustees approved the scal year 2024-25 budget, which includes a $9.1 million general fund shortfall amid 19% in cost increases due to ination. What you need to know On June 17 and 18, TISD Chief Financial Ocer
Budget increases since FY 2023 24
$214M in general fund revenues
sta—which is 183 more employees than in FY 2023-24, according to budget documents. Student- to-sta and student-to-teacher ratios will remain about the same as in 2023-24. “[The $9.1 million gap] doesn’t mean we’re going to go borrow $9 million from some bank,” board Vice President Justin Unser said. “We have the money to fund this.” Tax rate information will be provided to the district in August, Boles said.
+5.4%
$223.1M in general fund expenditures
+7.1%
$193.9M in payroll costs
Zack Boles presented the nal version of the district’s FY 2024-25 budget and tax rates. TISD will employ 2,952 total sta—includ- ing educators, administrators and auxiliary
+7.4%
SOURCE: TOMBALL ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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