(The Center Square) – Bipartisan opposition is growing against the largest public school bond proposal in state history put before voters in Texas’ largest city this election.
The Houston Independent School District has proposed Proposition A and Proposition B on the Nov. 5 ballot, arguing that increasing debt and taxes by nearly $11 billion over 33 years is necessary to build and renovate school buildings, implement security upgrades and make other improvements.
Multiple news outlets have reported the bond proposal is $4.4 billion. This total excludes the interest on the principal. Proposition A and B total debt obligation, including total principal and interest, exceeds $10.9 billion, The Center Square first reported.
If both propositions are approved, taxpayers will be saddled with additional ISD debt and property taxes through 2058, according to the bond certificate filed by the district.
That’s in addition to the district’s outstanding debt and interest obligations totaling nearly $2.5 billion that taxpayers still owe, The Center Square first reported.
Additionally, Houston ISD’s total debt already increased to $2.9 billion in fiscal 2023, according to Bond Review Board data.
Propositions A and B have widespread bipartisan opposition, including by the Houston Federation of Teachers and Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, Harris County Democratic Party, Harris County Republican Party, HISD parents, among many others.
Groups that support them include the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, Children at Risk, the Houston Food Bank, among others.
Harris County’s Democratic and Republican parties passed resolutions opposing Proposition A and B, formally endorsing “no” votes against them.
The Harris County Democratic Party opposes them because it opposes the state takeover of HISD and its new superintendent, Mike Miles. Its resolution states Miles “has a disastrous record of fiscal mismanagement, including a massive budget deficit increase, questionable expenditures, and a lack of transparency” and “has wreaked havoc on students and public education – closing libraries, cutting essential services, and targeting Black and Brown communities with restrictive curricula.”
It cites examples of a “concerning pattern of fiscal mismanagement,” including HISD’s budget deficit increasing from $118 million to over $450 million under Miles; Miles allocating more than “$100 million on redundant purchases of furniture and technology;” and questionable expenditures like “$470,000 on a musical production” and $1 million “on adult-sized spin bikes intended for elementary schoolchildren.”
It also points to a recent poll that found “77% of likely voters distrust Miles with HISD funds and 58% perceive him as corrupt.”
The Harris County Republican Party has historically opposed increasing taxes, citing lack of fiscal responsibility to taxpayers. It opposes the bond propositions, arguing bonds always increase taxes as well as local governments’ debt burdens. It also notes that HISD has a history of corruption and mismanagement, as reported by the Houston Chronicle among other outlets.
In 2015, “after a $211 million bond shortfall was discovered, HISD performed an audit of its 2012, $1.9 billion bond, then the largest school bond in Texas history. The audit found poor oversight and supervision of contractors, and lack of competition among bidders,” the Chronicle reported. The HISD chief auditor at the time suspected criminal violations and reported them to law enforcement. He was then fired, prompting a lawsuit and settlement.
In 2013, HISD still hadn’t completed projects from a 2007 $805 million school bond after taxes had already been increased to pay for them. A jury found that an HISD board member and construction contractor were involved in a kickback scheme connected to it. Another investigation found that an HISD employee stole nearly $150,000 from a 2022 $808.6 million bond.
The district is pushing through nearly $11 billion worth of increased taxes and debt this election when residents are already suffering from record-high inflationary costs and other county tax increases, Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel argues.
“In the wake of recently passed Democrat-led tax increases, local taxpayers are already facing a heightened financial burden, making it even more critical to oppose this bond,” she said, Houston Public Media reported. “Adding unnecessary and unaccounted-for expenses through these propositions will only exacerbate the pressure on hard-working families. We need to ensure that every dollar spent goes directly to improving the quality of education for Houston students. The huge dollar figure of these bonds is troubling, and we believe it’s time for HISD to be fully transparent with how they manage taxpayer money.”
HISD has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement for years, including the latest criminal charges filed against five employees for allegedly running a teacher certification cheating scam, The Center Square reported.
The state took over HISD in March 2023 citing poor academic accountability. In 2019, when first attempting to take it over, the state published a report detailing HISD board member violations. In 2020, the FBI raided HISD’s headquarters; HISD’s former COO was indicted for allegedly embezzling $6 million of taxpayer money.
Of the 193,727 students enrolled in 273 HISD public schools in the 2021-2022 school year, 60% graduated high school and 69% didn’t meet their grade level in all subjects. HISD’s enrollment dropped by 10% from the 2019-20 to the 2022-23 school years. It’s on track to drop another 5%, according to the latest 2023-24 school year data.
