Bryantt is a fresh voice for HCC District VIII
Since 2009, Eva Loredo has been a sturdy presence on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees. Sometimes, however, institutions need a fresh voice to inject energy and perspective to face the challenges that lie ahead. We believe Jharrett Bryantt is the best choice to represent HCC District VIII, a diverse district that stretches from southwest Houston to the Port of Houston. Bryantt and Loredo are set to face off in a runoff after neither garnered 50 percent earlier this month.
Bryantt, 32, currently works as an assistant superintendent for HISD. He’s seen in education circles as a rising star: Earlier this year, he was a finalist for superintendent for a mid-size school district in Utah. His ambitions may go far beyond the borders of District VIII, but we still think he brings what HCC needs: fresh ideas and perspective.
In a meeting with the editorial board before the Nov. 2 election, Bryantt impressed with a range of ideas about how to fix HCC’s low (30 percent) graduation rate. College preparedness is one of his areas of expertise and he’d come to the board with several potential solutions. We also think his proposal to tie graduation rates to the evaluation of HCC’s chancellor would bring much-needed accountability.
We didn’t hear much in the way of problem-solving when we spoke with Loredo, and only one recent concrete improvement — a 2 percent faculty pay raise. She expressed a general desire to put students first, but didn’t share specifics about how to improve HCC’s significant enrollment dip — a 17 percent drop from 2019 to 2020. Though it is a nationwide trend, we hoped for more urgency in her approach to address the challenge.
As we wrote in October, Loredo struck us as unconcerned and apologetic about her vote to approve Christopher Oliver as vice chair six months prior to his federal conviction for accepting about a quarter-million dollars in bribes in exchange for his influence over HCC contracts. Loredo inexplicably said to us she “couldn’t remember” her vote, nor did she accept responsibility for overlooking a 2010 investigation into Oliver that signaled his capacity for corruption.
That lack of accountability isn’t acceptable. We commend Loredo for her 36 years in education and 12 years of
service on the board of trustees, but HCC’s nearly 60,000 students need Bryantt’s bold ideas and vision. We urge voters to elect Bryantt in the upcoming HCC District VIII runoff.