Education
BY VALERIA ESCOBAR
UH o cials plan expansions without state capital funds
The University of Houston will not receive over $300 million in capital project requests from the 89th Texas Legislature for the Sugar Land and Katy campuses, as the requests weren’t included in higher education appropriation bills, college o cials said. UH administrators said they requested $175 million for a health tech facility in Sugar Land and $165 million for a new academic building in Katy in this year’s higher education funding bill, Senate Bill 1. The proposed Sugar Land facility was set to house addi- tional classrooms and o ce spaces as well as a Perioperative Nursing Center aimed at providing training through virtual reality, arti cial intelligence and robotic surgery, UH o cials previously said.
However, a May 31 report from the Conference Committee, composed of members from both chambers, showed only $20 million was allocated for faculty and students services in Katy, with no allocation for the Sugar Land campus. Digging in Joan Hu man, R Houston, who authored SB 1, declined to com- ment on the capital request from UH, but she believes higher educa- tion institutional budget requests were thoroughly discussed by the Senate Finance Committee. Looking ahead The bill was passed by the Sen- ate June 1 and the House June 2. It now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott.
JUN 21 7-10PM Sienna Amphitheater Club Sienna · 9600 Scanlan Trace COMMUNITY CELEBRATION
“We’ve got a pipeline of about 100,000 students coming up through K 12 [in Katy]. ... We need to start moving, because the ball is coming.” JAY NEAL, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, UH AT SUGAR LAND AND UH AT KATY
Whitbeck lawsuit dismissed by court
The 434th District Court has dismissed the remaining claim from former Fort Bend ISD Super- intendent Christie Whitbeck in the lawsuit led against the district in December 2024. The claim alleged the district breached the Voluntary Retirement Agreement, or VRA, that Whitbeck signed prior to her departure in December 2023.
What’s next In an order signed May 19, the court dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Whitbeck is barred from re ling the claims, according to court documents. However, Whitbeck’s attorney Chris Tritico led a motion for reconsideration May 28, and a hearing date for the motion has yet to be announced, according to court lings.
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