(Houston Chronicle Staff)
Most of Houston’s aging high schools would be rebuilt or renovated under HISD Superintendent Terry Grier’s plan to seek voter approval for a $1.9 billion bond issue, the largest in recent history for a Texas district.
Grier’s proposal, unveiled Thursday, would phase in a tax rate increase of about 7 cents, costing the owner of an average-priced home an extra $99 a year in 2017. The first hike would go into effect in 2014, raising the average bill by $29.
The school board is scheduled to vote on the plan in August. It would appear on a crowded November ballot that includes city, community college and Metro referendums, seen as potential threats to passage.
“I say this and I mean this with my soul: This bond could transform Houston as a city,” Grier said Thursday. “I’m a former high school principal. I know the difference a high school makes in a community. Putting a brand-new high school in the middle of a community is absolutely a strategy to jump start the economy there.”
Grier said his recommendations are based on an outside study by the construction services company Parsons. (Read the full story at The Houston Chronicle)
Related Coverage:
• HISD Bond Package Would Rebuild High Schools, Address Campus Needs in Neighborhoods Across Houston (HISD Press Release)
• HISD Bond Would Rebuild Schools (KTRK 13 News)
• $1.89B Bond Proposal Would Affect 42 Schools, Likely Raise Taxes (KHOU 11 News)
• HISD Considering $1.9B Bond Proposal (KRIV 26 News)
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