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District Postpones Action on School Closures, Consolidations

HISD will postpone any action on school closures and consolidations while leaders continue to meet with the community and get input on long-term facilities and program planning for the school district.

Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra said HISD officials will meet with the community at two meetings as scheduled, but that the district will continue working with the community on the need to make schools efficient and effective and will not ask the Board of Education to vote on any closures or consolidations this month.

Under the original plan, the HISD administration had planned to ask the school board to make decisions June 26 regarding closing and consolidating schools in coming years, partly involving the new bond issue voters approved in November for $805 million in new schools and renovations.

Dr. Saavedra said HISD has held 54 community meetings with more than 1,800 community residents over the last two months, an unprecedented public engagement effort. He said the input has been so valuable that he wants the process to continue.

“These are critically important issues and we want to make sure we make the right decisions,” Dr. Saavedra said. “We will postpone any action on these facilities-consolidation issues at this time while we continue to get public input on facilities and programs. It’s important that we continue to listen to the public and engage the community in these decisions. We made that promise to the people of Houston and we’re going to keep that promise.”

The postponement will have no effect on the upcoming school year because virtually none of the consolidations and closures that had been discussed would have taken effect in August at the start of the next school year.