HISD Leaders Testify at State Capitol on Budget Crisis
Superintendent and trustee call for flexibility during difficult financial times
March 09, 2011
March 09, 2011
HISD Superintendent of Schools Terry B. Grier and Board of Education member Harvin C. Moore testified at the State Capitol on March 8 about the impact that the state budget crisis could have on HISD.
“I know this is difficult for you,” Dr. Grier told members of the Senate Education Committee, “but I can promise you that it is very, very difficult back in our school districts as well.” He spoke in support of Senate Bill 443, filed by Senator Dan Patrick of Houston. The bill provides more flexibility and opportunities for districts to save money. A key component of the legislation focuses on class size in kindergarten through fourth grade. It would set a hard cap of 24 students for every teacher. Currently, the state allows 22 students per class.
“I am very concerned about potential layoffs this year. I believe the flexibility that we will give to the school districts will enable school districts to retain more teachers,” Patrick said. “The goal here is to do what’s best for the students and to protect as many teacher jobs as we possibly can.”
Patrick said his proposal is not designed to increase class size. Currently, districts can apply for a waiver if they have more than 22 students per class. The measure would eliminate waivers and districts would not be allowed to have more than 24 students in a class. The average class size would be set at 21 students.
Dr. Grier said HISD would benefit from the legislation. “If we don’t have some flexibility at the elementary grade level, it is going to require our middle schools and high schools to carry the burden of trying to balance our budget through class size reductions. That worries me a great deal,” he said.
The state does not have a limit on class size at the secondary level. Without approval of new legislation, districts could be forced to have larger classes in middle and high schools in order to meet state requirements for the elementary level. While Grier supports the option of having up to 24 students per class, he said he is generally opposed to larger classes. “It is simply a financial issue in our situation. That is what it boils down to,” Dr. Grier explained. “These are unusual times. I can promise you, if we didn’t have to look at that as a strategy, it would not be something that I would be recommending.”
The superintendent also voiced support for a portion of the bill that would eliminate so-called “double testing” in eighth grade. “I have been told by many of our teachers that requiring students who take algebra in eighth grade to then also have to take the eighth-grade TAKS test, requires those teachers to stop preparing for algebra and go back to teach the TAKS test and make sure they cover those principles as well,” Dr. Grier explained. The proposal to eliminate “double-testing” was included as an amendment to the bill after HISD requested the change. The legislation is pending in the Senate Education Committee.