Education
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ
Education Edition
2024
Readers, welcome to your annual CI Education Edition! This guide features the latest updates and resources about local K-12 public school options in your community, including stories on Houston ISD’s transportation system and a $4.4 billion bond referendum district o cials are considering to place on ballots this November. All of the stories were written by our team of local journalists, and all of the advertisements are from nearby businesses who support our mission to provide free, useful news—show them your gratitude by supporting them. The HISD board of managers has until Aug. 16 to vote to place the bond on the ballot in the Nov. 5 General Election. As district o cials ne-tuned details of the potential bond in July, our team took a look at what it could mean for tax payers as well as what improvements would be funded at schools in the Bellaire, Meyerland and West University area. The story also looks at challenges the district could face in getting the bond to pass, including disapproval among some voters of district leadership under Superintendent Mike Miles, who was appointed by the Texas Education Agency to run the district in 2023. Find all the details about what the bond could include and the key dates moving forward in the story by Reporter Wesley Gardner on pages 8-9.
What's inside
Houston ISD nears deadline to place $4.4 billion bond referendum on November ballots (Page 8)
Rachelle Park General Manager rpark@ communityimpact.com
HISD cuts, adjusts bus routes for 2024 25
The cost
The district will save around $3 million by streamlining routes, part of a broader e ort to cut $16 million from annual transportation infrastructure costs, which were $56 million in the 2023-24 scal year. O cials are aiming to reduce transportation infrastructure costs by: • $10 million by the end of the 2024-25 school year • $16 million by the end of the 2025-26 school year Additional savings are expected to come from improvements to how HISD dispatches and manages buses, according to a July 22 news release. Families with questions or concerns about their routes can call the HISD transportation helpline at 713-613-3040. Certain students may be eligible for an exemption to the new bus route plan that would allow for changes to pickup and dropo points.
In an e ort to cut costs and reduce the time students spend on buses, Houston ISD o cials announced changes July 22 to bus routes that will go into e ect for the rst day of the 2024-25 school year on Aug. 12. The changes will a ect the bus routes and pickup points for roughly 3,000 students in the school choice program. Roughly 115 schools are part of HISD’s school choice program, including magnet, dual language and international baccalaureate schools. District o cials estimate roughly 9,000 students rely on the bus system to get to and from campuses, including 6,000 zoned students and 3,000 school choice students. Under the new streamlined system, buses will on average make fewer stops and carry more students, said Alexandra Elizondo, HISD’s chief of public a airs and communications. Students who attend zoned schools and students who are enrolled in HISD special education programs—around two-thirds of students that ride buses—will not be a ected by the changes.
Bus route changes
Total routes 2023-24: 2024-25:
508
423
Average length of one-way trip 2023-24: 1 hour 45 minutes 2024-25: 1 hour 15 minutes
30 minutes
Assigned bus stops for roughly 3,000 school choice students: • Were located within a 2-mile radius of their homes in 2023-24 • Will be located within a 3-mile radius of their homes in 2024-25
SOURCE: HOUSTON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
For the remaining 3,000 students enrolled in school choice programs, assigned bus stops will now be located within a 3-mile radius of each students’ home, up from a 2-mile radius last year. Most of those students will be assigned a stop at their zoned high school or middle school, while some students may be assigned stops at community centers or libraries nearby.
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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION
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