Houston superintendent seeks analysis of school facilities

Terry Grier, superintendent of Houston Independent School District (HISD), is asking the school board to authorize a $4 million study of the district’s facilities. If approved, the analysis could impact future bond elections, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“We know the facilities in Houston won’t last forever,” Grier said. “And I think it is just good business to know the conditions of your facilities. Once you have one done and look at it, then the board is in a much better position should it decide to have a bond, whether it be two years, five years, eight years. But there will be another bond in Houston, Texas, in HISD. It will be a matter of when. Schools, they don’t last forever.”

The HISD board approved a facilities assessment in 2006 and updated it in 2012 before calling for a $1.9 billion bond referendum in November of that year. The 2012 bond measure was overwhelmingly approved by voters. It allocates funding for rebuilding or renovating 40 district facilities, including most of the district’s high schools, according to the Chronicle.

Another assessment will help the school district plan for future capital needs, including setting up a database to track the age of equipment like chillers and determine when repairs may be needed, HISD’s chief operating officer, Leo Bobadilla, told the Chronicle.