Government
Education
BY KEVIN VU
BY WESLEY GARDNER & CASSANDRA JENKINS
3,000 homeless people identified in Harris County The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County’s annual Point-in-Time survey released Sept. 9 shows homelessness in the Houston area remains steady, but there has been a jump in chronic homelessness compared to last year. Latest update From Jan. 28-30, survey volunteers went around the Houston region—including Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties—asking unhoused individu- als where they slept the night of Jan. 27. The coalition found there were 3,325 homeless individuals in the region that night, with 3,000 tallied in Harris County alone. Kelly Young, the coalition’s president and CEO, said Houston’s homeless population remains steady compared to the rising trend nationally, due in part to a “consistent response system.” “In order to prevent homelessness, respond
Council proposes fencing requirements Houston City Council member Tarsha Jack- son, District B, introduced a new ordinance during a Sept. 16 Proposition A committee meeting that would require property owners to fence the perimeters of all vacant buildings. Current situation The ordinance would require property owners to install fences that are at least 6 feet tall within 10 days of a commercial building’s vacancy, with a few exceptions. If an owner fails to comply, a citation will be issued with a fine of $500 per day. Jackson said she proposed the ordinance because of constituents saying they were seeing empty buildings often littered with crime and illegal dumping. However, due to the lack of a quorum, no action was taken at the meeting.
HISD aims for all schools to be A- or B- rated by 2027 Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles, who was appointed by the Texas Education Agency in June 2023, hosted a news conference Sept. 9, promising that by the start of the 2027-28 school year, all 273 schools will be A- or B-rated. Zooming in TEA released A-F accountability ratings for the 2024-25 school year Aug. 15, which showed that the district had no F-rated campuses. However, despite recent gains, Miles said the district is aiming to improve even further in the next one to two years, as the district still had 54 campuses receive a C and 18 earn a D in the past school year. “This is all of our success, and all of our future effort,” Miles said. “This will be to the benefit of all Houstonians and not just the kids in HISD.” Miles said the district has reached out to
Superintendent receives $173K bonus The Houston ISD board of managers approved a $173,660 bonus for Superinten- dent Mike Miles following the release of his evaluation for the 2024-25 school year, officials said in a Sept. 16 news release. The payment is part of Miles’ contract, which allows for up to $190,000 in incentive pay tied to annual results, per the release. A closer look According to Texas Education Agency data, HISD’s A-F accountability ratings increased from 93 A- and B-rated schools two years ago to 197 in 2024-25. District data also shows that during Miles’ two years in office, students who took the end-of-year exams in 2024-25 passed by higher percentage points in all five subjects when compared to the 2022-23 school year.
HISD 2025 ratings by geography
Homeless population in Houston From 2023 to 2024, the Houston area saw 45 more homeless individuals.
A B C D
-28%
4,000 4,500 5,000 3,500 3,000 0
4,609
610
3,325
+9%
WESTPARK TOLLWAY.
288
SOURCE: THE COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS OF HOUSTON, HARRIS COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
within 90 days, and ensure no one has to sleep outside while waiting for housing, we must invest in a system capable of meeting the full scale of need in our city and county,” she said. Despite the stability, the region has seen a 44% increase in chronic homelessness, or someone who has been homeless for at least 12 months.
SOURCE: HOUSTON ISD/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Houston area business leaders to sponsor a school with a C or D rating, which includes funding two teacher appreciation lunches, student celebra- tions, campus cleanup days and donating dollars to use for academic needs.
HOUSTON SUPERSTORE 2410 Smith Street (713) 526-8787
SHEPHERD 1900 S Shepherd (713) 529-4849
WESTCOTT AND MEMORIAL 5818 Memorial Dr (713) 861-4161
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