Hello, Houston,
There's less than 195 days until Election Day on Nov. 7. Not that anyone is counting.
Along with the election for U.S. president, Houston residents are expected to vote in November on a multi-billion dollar school bond to fund improvements to Houston ISD school facilities and infrastructure, although, with about six months to go, we still haven't heard much from the district about the specifics of their plans.
If you're looking to exercise your right to vote before then, I've got good news. Early voting is open in the election for three members of the Harris Central Appraisal District's board of directors, who are partly responsible for property tax bills and appointing the chief appraiser for HISD's taxing district. (Find a sample ballot here.)
Keep reading this week's news from HISD, including a dive into a report on environmental safety and high lead levels in schools:
This Week's Must Read:
- HISD has backtracked on plans to offer retention incentives of up to $2,000 to teachers working in schools outside the New Education System due to budget constraints.
- In its annual rankings of high schools, U.S. News & World Report listed two HISD high schools among the best 10 public secondary schools in the state.
 | Megan Menchaca, Houston ISD Reporter |
Dozens of HISD schools had high lead levels in drinking water in fall 2023
Nearly a third of all HISD schools reported lead levels in drinking water above a commonly cited safety threshold from the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a new analysis from fall 2023.
When you read that, you may be experiencing some déjà vu. Didn't the Chronicle already report on high levels of lead in drinking water sources in HISD schools a few months ago? What's new about this? And why is it being published now?
To recap: HISD partnered with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality last year to test schools (see our report on those results here) but they only got through about half the schools before the district temporarily paused testing so a different vendor could conduct a similar analysis.
Professional Service Industries, the new vendor, finished its testing of all HISD schools in January, but as far as I know, the district didn't publicly publish their conclusions anywhere. The Chronicle only obtained the results in mid-April after repeated requests to the district for the report over several months.
We requested and published this data because it is the most comprehensive testing for lead that the district has conducted since the 2016-2017 school year, where testing found lead in at least one water source at 84% of 250 schools. According to the new data, high levels of lead — which is, to put it lightly, not good to consume — are still present at 82 campuses.
Read more here for an in-depth dive into the report's findings and recommendations. You can also check our database here to see which schools tested positive for high lead levels.
What Else Happened This Week
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The Calendar Ahead
• April 27: Special education parent summit from 9 a.m. to noon at the Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center
• April 27: When I Grow Up Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. at Hattie Mae White Center
• April 30: School counselor job candidate info session at 5 p.m. via Zoom
• May 4: Campus hiring event from 8 a.m. to noon at Delmar Fieldhouse and Hattie Mae White Center
• May 9: HISD board meeting at 5 p.m. at Hattie Mae White Center
Shoutout
Three HISD seniors selected as National Merit Scholars
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation named three HISD students Wednesday as National Merit Scholars, a prestigious designation given to less than 1% of high school seniors in the U.S.
The students named in the first group of winners are Gayeon Kim from Carnegie Vanguard High School, Dhruv Balivada from Bellaire High School and Victoria Wilson from the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
They each won corporate-sponsored scholarships of at least $2,500 that they can use at any U.S. university. To qualify for the award, students must fill out a detailed scholarship application and earn high scores on the PSAT or NMSQT, "outstanding" grades and qualifying SAT or ACT scores.
Know a teacher, student or maybe even a principal who deserves a shoutout? Let us know here or by replying to this email.
Meet The Team
Photo by: Susan Barber
Our HISD coverage is fueled by reporting from Megan Menchaca, Sam González Kelly and Anastasia Goodwin. Assistant City Editor Jennifer Radcliffe also helps contribute to this newsletter.
You can reach out to any of them by emailing them at their firstname.lastname@houstonchronicle.com, filling out this survey or by replying directly to this email.
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