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December 17, 2007
Still Battling The Bond
Readers will recall that in November's general election, voters in the Houston Independent School District narrowly approved an $805 million bond issue to improve security and science facilities on campuses district-wide, as well as repair and replace dozens of schools. The plan involved closing a handful of schools, largely of historic significance in the local African American community. This part of the bond issue proved the most controversial, and is why it barely passed. (Disclosure: Houtopia did some work early in the campaign for the pro-bond group.)
Despite fairly organized opposition and a slew of negative press stories about HISD and the bond, it did pass. The opponents, however, do not appear ready to go gentle into that good night. Today the Chronicle reported that a group of parents and students have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block the sale of the recently approved bonds, alleging discrimination against poor and minority children.
Evidently, some folks are following that old political strategy of, if you can't win at the ballot box, give it a try in court. HISD, for its part, insists the suit is without merit. We can't help but think that badly needed money for the school district will be delayed as the lawyers fight it out, and that HISD students will lose out. We shall see what happens.
Posted by houtopia at December 17, 2007 10:23 PM