Results tagged “schoolboard”

Good morning, Houston. We've run into some, uh, active parents of student athletes in our day, but we can't remember remember hearing about one who was actually banned from his kid's sporting events — until now, that is. Meet Joe Dalton, who has been barred from his son's Stafford High home football games because school district officials allege he assaulted a student. It happened at the last home game Dalton attended, where he said...

Good morning, Houston. We just don't understand the entertainment juggernaut (or is it "juggernette?") that is Hannah Montana: Tickets to her Nov. 11 Toyota Center show sold out in five minutes Saturday, and now they're going for as much as $1,275 on eBay — granted, that's for a set of four tickets, but still, wow. The markup through eBay and ticket brokers has left some parents shelling out big bucks to give their kids...

Good morning, Houston. If you'd like a little more Kinky in your life, you may be in luck. Erstwhile gubernatorial candidate and the bane of Chris Bell's existence Kinky Friedman said he might make another run for the office in 2010. This time, though, he's thinking about losing the independent label and running as a Democrat. Consultant Kelly Fero said, "They're going to be looking for real serious, legitimate candidates. Kinky should throw his...

HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra announced Thursday that the district needs an $805 million bond issue this November to repair and replace aging schools — but the HISD trustees are expected to vote next Thursday on whether to put the issue on the ballot. Think that isn't much time to learn the details of a pretty big amount of money? You're not the only one: "I'm concerned about the timeline," school board member Greg Meyers told...

More today on Shelby Sendelbach, the 12-year-old Katy junior high student who was shipped off to alternative school for writing a love message in marker on a gymnasium wall: The Katy ISD is now reconsidering its punishment. "I am looking at what happened and what options we have per state law and local policy," Katy Superintendent Alton Frailey told the Chronicle. "It is always my practice to follow the law and policy while looking out...

There is no word from HISD yet on whether three schools, Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School, will open again next fall. HISD officials wouldn't discuss the issue, saying only that they're they're waiting on the Texas Education Agency to analyze students' test scores and decide whether or not these three campuses are "academically acceptable." The high schools are both located in north Houston, while McReynolds is east of downtown, just off...

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Pay Your Fine Online Houston Municipal Courts are encouraging people who have to pay a fine to use the city's online payment system. By doing so, you can avoid the overcrowding and trouble finding parking around the courts. For more information, check out this story and the municipal courts website. Counter Strike Map Gets Local Student In Trouble A Houston area high school student was expelled...

This is the second in a series of posts about upcoming City Council races. Check out this week's earlier post about District I, and keep reading Houstonist for more campaign coverage. District E, currently represented by Addie Wiseman, connects the heavily Republican suburbs of Kingwood and Clear Lake by a narrow strip of land, and this year's City Council race reflects this odd districting. Candidate Annette Dwyer hails from Clear Lake and has served on...

Could perception of HISD's merit-based bonus program get any worse? Yes, of course: Today, most of the district's principals will be getting bonuses, with Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra taking home a whopping $67,000 in extra pay. As you might imagine, the news isn't sitting well with teachers and staff members who already feel slighted by the bonus scheme. At least 250 principals — that's 83 percent of the principals in HISD, according to the Chronicle —...

Good morning, Houston. With everything that's changing in today's world, it's nice to know that abbreviated rock star Prince can still make headlines. Today, the world — or at least a very small, sorta interested portion of it — is trying to figure out whether a silhouette of Prince, guitar in hand, projected during the Super Bowl halftime show was naughty. See, Prince was holding the guitar at an angle that made it look...

So the $14 million performance-based bonuses handed out this week to HISD teachers and staff aren't going over so well, apparently — some teachers are hinting that they'll call in sick next week to protest what they say are inequalities in the bonus system, and Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra had to apologize yesterday for calling teachers who got big bonuses "the cream of the crop."

Thousands of HISD teachers opened their paychecks Tuesday hoping to find more money than usual. A new merit-based bonus program, approved unanimously by the school board a year ago, went into effect today. It rewards teachers based on their students' performance on standardized tests.

With the corporate naming wave having swept over professional sports and now taking firm hold on college campuses, we knew it was only a matter of time before the folks in charge of corporate marketing turned their attention to the remaining untapped resource: public school systems. One of the early cases is happening right now in Conroe, where school district officials are weighing a $1 million offer to name their high school football stadium after Woodforest National Bank.

Remember the Houston school board's mostly private meeting at Vic & Anthony's a couple of weeks ago? The one where HISD trustees racked up a bill of $1,786.50 — that's $150 per person — while discussing Superintendent Abelardo Saavedera's job performance? The one that a private company paid for? Yeah, well, the Chronicle brings the meeting up again today and asks the question that's been on our minds: Was it ethical? And the answer is no. And yes.

Love it or hate it, we'll bet you know where the Taj Mahal is. No, not that one — we're talking about the former HISD administration building, which will be history within a few days, to be replaced by ... a Costco. No kidding. HISD had its headquarters in the building at 3830 Richmond Ave. from 1969 until the district moved to new quarters off 610 and 290 earlier this year. The big, white...

HISD trustees voted 8-1 yesterday to shut down three of the district's worst-performing schools next summer if the schools don't improve test scores and keep students from dropping out. The three schools — Kashmere High, Sam Houston High and McReynolds Middle School — are three of the lowest-performing in the state; according to state accountability ratings released last week, Kashmere and Sam Houston were the only schools in Texas to earn "academically unacceptable" ratings for...

It must be nice to be Jennifer Silva: In April, the Katy elementary school teacher was fired for taping kids' mouths shut to keep them quiet. In June, the state said she had to be re-hired or given $40,000 because the Katy school district didn't give her due process during a hearing on the issue. And now — you guessed it — Silva is walking away with the $40K and a new job.

Remember Jennifer Silva, the Katy elementary school teacher who was fired in April for taping students' mouths shut? Well, she's back in the news: On Wednesday, the Texas Education Agency ruled that Silva must be given her job back or paid her $40,000 annual salary because the Katy school district didn't give her due process during an appeal hearing on April 24. TEA Chief Deputy Commissioner Robert Scott ruled that the school district violated due...

This afternoon, HISD trustees will vote on a proposal to increase property taxes by 4 cents, determining which way the district will fall in a statewide debate over tax hikes. The proposed tax increase would bring HISD an extra $43.5 million, including $12 million from the state, which would be used for teacher pay raises, classroom computers, campus security and building upgrades — all good things, of course, but the school board is divided on...

HISD teachers could get an average 8.6 percent pay raise — up 1 percent over previous proposals — if the school board approves a 4-cent property tax increase Thursday. The increase, which would be the largest in seven years for HISD teachers, was part of a presentation Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra made Monday.

Welcome to hurricane season! The AP is reporting that HISD trustees will vote next week on a $600,000 emergency notification system that would call the parents of the district's more than 200,000 students in case a hurricane heads toward Houston. The system, which would be paid for with state technology funds, would let parents know about school closings or early releases — something most people have to find out from TV or radio stations now.

A Katy elementary school teacher has lost her job over incidents where she taped some students' mouths closed. The Katy school board voted last night not to renew Jennifer Silva's contract; she's been on suspension since the Feb. 2 tape incident. District officials said Silva violated school district policy, acted unprofessionally, falsified district records and misrepresented facts. Other than that, we're sure she was a fine teacher. "KISD informed me of the proposed termination before...

A 24-year-old Missouri City man has been charged with crashing his car into a couple's master bedroom overnight, killing them A man who stopped an attempted carjacking by firing his gun overnight ended up being arrested because he didn't have a concealed weapon permit Firefighters responding to a restaurant fire in the East End ran into problems when they couldn't get past the building's burglar bars What's one of the most inefficient things a manager...

Ex-Galveston ISD Athletic Director Brent Jaco, who was demoted after he reported a UIL violation that caused Ball High's football team to be disqualified from the state playoffs, has asked for his job back. Jaco filed a grievance asking the Galveston school board to overturn the decision of Superindentent Lynn Hale, who recently announced her retirement.

The Houston school board didn't spend all its time yesterday visiting with Vince Young and approving a new merit pay plan — it also adopted a $5.3 million cafeteria automation system that will let parents monitor their kids' meals online. Parent advocates said they're thrilled at the prospect of being able to keep a closer eye on both what their children are eating and what the district is serving. "This is going to lead to...

HISD will give annual bonuses to teachers whose students test well under an incentive pay program the school board adopted yesterday — one of the most aggresive such plans in the country. The bonuses could end up being over $3,000 for teachers whose students do exceptionally well on state and national standardized tests. "The eyes of the nation are upon us," Saavedra said after the vote, which followed a visit from University of Texas quarterback...