Renaming costs
Board also calls for an election on paying state $160M
The Houston school board signs off on a $1.2 million price tag for the renaming of eight schools named after Confederate loyalists.
The Houston school board signed off Thursday on a $1.2 million price tag for the renaming of eight schools named after Confederate loyalists.
The public disclosure and approval of the estimated cost came two months after a group of taxpayers sued the Houston Independent School District, alleging a lack of transparency in the controversial renaming process.
The district’s interim superintendent, Ken Huewitt, told the school board this week that he proposed the agenda item revealing the renaming expenses in response to the ongoing lawsuit.
“We believe that this basically addresses the matter that was brought forward to the courts,” Huewitt said.
Tension has remained high for months over the renaming, which stemmed from the June 2015 shooting deaths of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., where the Confederate flag then hung at the statehouse. The killings prompted action across the nation to remove symbols of the Confederacy.
In other business Thursday, the school board agreed to call an election in November seeking voter approval to send roughly $160 million to the state. The district is deemed too property wealthy under the state’s school-finance system and must forfeit funds to share with poorer districts. If voters reject the measure, the state education commissioner has authority to detach high-value property from HISD and to assign it to other districts.
HISD’s estimated cost of $1,245,197 for renaming the
schools would cover updates to the affected facilities; uniforms for athletics and other activities; and temporary banners for schools being rebuilt. District leaders plan to present a final tally once all the invoices are paid.
The board action represented a partial victory for the community members who filed the lawsuit in June, according to their attorneys, Avi Moshenberg and Ryan King of the Goforth law firm in Houston.
However, the attorneys said, they think the district still needs clearance from agencies that oversee historical preservation to change the school names — a claim HISD denies.
HISD trustee Harvin Moore said he opposed changing the school names but, given that the board majority ordered the renaming months ago, he voted to approve the cost estimate.
“We do have better things to be spending our money on, and I wish we were not doing this,” Moore added.
Jones: Respect is key
Trustee Jolanda Jones, who supported the school renaming, said she was frustrated that people appear to use money as an excuse “to stop equity and equality and respect of all races.”
“People who were not affected by slavery — maybe I … respect that you don’t get it,” Jones said. “But I’m not Jewish, and I respect that the Holocaust was a crime against humanity. I respect it. And if we had a school that was named after even a lowly SS guard, I would vote to change the name.”
Trustees Anna Eastman and Greg Meyers voted against the cost estimate, in line with their earlier votes against the renaming.
The lawsuit said that the district agenda items ordering the renaming of the schools listed the cost as “none.” Those agenda items, approved by the board on split votes, called for the schools to form committees to recommend new names.
In May, when the board approved the new names for seven of the eight schools, the agenda items did not list a specific cost but listed the funding source as “general fund — fund balance.”
In a statement earlier this week, the district said in part, “By their nature, the costs associated with renaming the schools are not known precisely when the decisions were made.”
Judge could rule soon
A judge could rule in the lawsuit as early as next week after both sides file additional arguments.
The HISD schools and their new names are: Richard Dowling Middle to Audrey H. Lawson Middle; Henry Grady Middle to Tanglewood Middle; Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Middle to Yolanda Black Navarro Middle School of Excellence; Albert Sidney Johnston Middle to Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School; Sidney Lanier Middle to Bob Lanier Middle; Jefferson Davis High to Northside High; Lee High to Margaret Long Wisdom High; and John Reagan High to Heights High.