Houston Independent School District elections (2015)
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Four seats on the Houston Independent School District Board of Trustees were up for general election on November 3, 2015. Because no candidate was able to claim 50 percent plus one of the votes in the District II and III races, a runoff election was held on December 12, 2015.[1]
The seats of District II incumbent Rhonda Skillern-Jones, District III incumbent Manuel Rodriguez Jr., District IV incumbent Paula Harris and District VIII incumbent Juliet Stipeche were up for election.[2]
Skillern-Jones, Rodriguez and Stipeche filed for re-election to their respective seats. In the District II race, Skillern-Jones faced Youlette McCullough, Darlene Smith and Larry Williams. Skillern-Jones won the general election but faced Williams in the runoff election on December 12, 2015.[1] She won the runoff election. Skillern-Jones was first elected to the board in 2011.[3] In District III, Rodriguez was set to compete against two challengers: Ramiro Fonseca and Jose Leal. Rodriguez won the general election but went up against Leal in the December runoff election, which Rodriguez won.[1] Rodriguez was first elected to the board in 2003.[3]
Stipeche had the least challengers competing against her with just Diana Davila aiming to unseat her. Stipeche was first elected in 2010 to finish out an unexpired term and then re-elected in 2011.[3] However, Davila was successful in securing the District VIII seat. Since Harris, who had served on the board since 2007, did not file for re-election in District IV, four candidates filed to replace her. They were Davetta Daniels, Jolanda Jones, Ann McCoy and Larry McKinzie.[3] Jones won the seat for District IV.
The district had been faced with a $211 million construction bond deficit, an audit of which was announced just two weeks after Superintendent Terry Grier announced his resignation. It had also confronted overcrowded elementary school classrooms and made efforts to alleviate the problem by making waivers available for students to attend other schools. Because of a district capping policy, this may have forced some students to attend schools far away from their family homes.
About the district
Houston Independent School District is located in north Harris County, Texas. The county seat of Harris County is Houston. Harris County was home to an estimated 4,441,370 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] Houston Independent School District was the largest school district in Texas, serving 203,354 students during the 2012-2013 school year.[5]
Demographics
Harris County outperformed Texas as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2009 to 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 28.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 26.7 percent for the state as a whole. The median household income in the county was $53,137, compared to $51,900 statewide. The poverty rate in the county was 18.5 percent, compared to 17.6 percent for the entire state.[4]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Houston Board of Trustees consists of nine members who are elected by district to four-year staggered terms. There was no primary election, and the general election for four seats was held November 3, 2015.[7]
A member of the board must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and a resident of the district. An individual seeking office must be a resident of the state for 12 months and a resident of the district for six months, prior to the last date on which the candidate could file to be listed on the ballot. The deadline to file for a place on the general election ballot was August 24, 2015.[7] Voters had to register to vote by October 5, 2015, to cast ballots in this election.
Elections
2015
Candidates
District II
Rhonda Skillern-Jones  
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Youlette McCullough | ||
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| Darlene Smith | Larry Williams
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District III
| Manuel Rodriguez Jr.
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Ramiro Fonseca | Jose Leal
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District IV
| Davetta Daniels | Jolanda Jones
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| Ann McCoy | Larry McKinzie | ||
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District VIII
| Juliet Stipeche | Diana Davila
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Election results
Runoff election
District II
| Houston Independent School District, District II, Runoff Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Rhonda Skillern-Jones Incumbent |
70.4% | 11,173 |
| Larry Williams | 29.6% | 4,687 |
| Total Votes | 15,860 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Joint Runoff Election Canvass Report," accessed January 14, 2016 | ||
District III
| Houston Independent School District, District III, Runoff Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Manuel Rodriguez Jr. Incumbent |
55.9% | 3,459 |
| Jose Leal | 44.1% | 2,730 |
| Total Votes | 6,189 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Joint Runoff Election Canvass Report," accessed January 14, 2016 | ||
General election
District II
| Houston Independent School District, District II, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Rhonda Skillern-Jones Incumbent |
46.0% | 7,639 |
| Larry Williams | 24.8% | 4,119 |
| Youlette McCullough | 21.1% | 3,501 |
| Darlene Smith | 8.1% | 1,348 |
| Total Votes | 16,607 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 | ||
District III
| Houston Independent School District, District III, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Manuel Rodriguez Jr. Incumbent |
46.4% | 4,074 |
| Jose Leal | 29.9% | 2,625 |
| Ramiro Fonseca | 23.6% | 2,075 |
| Total Votes | 8,774 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 | ||
District IV
| Houston Independent School District, District IV, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jolanda Jones |
57.8% | 12,221 |
| Ann McCoy | 20.7% | 4,385 |
| Davetta Daniels | 11.9% | 2,517 |
| Larry McKinzie | 9.6% | 2,027 |
| Total Votes | 21,150 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 | ||
District VIII
| Houston Independent School District, District VIII, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Diana Davila |
55.6% | 6,733 |
| Juliet Stipeche Incumbent | 44.4% | 5,376 |
| Total Votes | 12,109 | |
| Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 | ||
What was at stake?
2015
Issues in the election
$211 million bond deficit
In 2012, HISD voters passed a $1.89 billion bond for the purpose of "rebuilding and renovating 40 schools, renovating middle school restrooms and upgrading technology, athletic facilities and security."[8][9] In 2015, district superintendent Terry Grier and his staff announced that $211 million more is needed to complete the projects.[10] Meanwhile, not one new school has been opened.
HISD district officials stated that the deficit is a result of "rising inflation and construction costs."[9] But an internal audit, ordered by the board and released on October 21, 2015, says that this reason is false. Contrary to the explanation, ABC 13 states that the audit,
| “ | Points to a lack of competitive bidding and points to 'scope creep by agreeing to work that was not in the original plan' as reasons for the shortfall. | ” |
| —ABC 13 Eyewitness News[9] | ||
The school board plans to postpone putting the $211 million request on their meeting agenda until an external audit has been completed. Board member Juliet Stipeche explained that she is skeptical about the claims of inflation cost:
| “ | I wanted to know the methodology that was used to create the calculation of the inflation and how they came up with the determination that $211 million was an appropriate amount to be able to follow through on all these projects. We have to have fully transparent disclosure of the 2012 bond program. How much money has been spent? How much money has been encumbered? How much money remains on a project-by-project basis? And I do not have that. | ” |
| —Juliet Stipeche[9] | ||
Grier, however, expressed dissatisfaction at the audit report, explaining that it relied on,
| “ | Flawed methodology, including insufficient data review, limited and biased research, and a profound lack of understanding of the Houston economic climate. | ” |
| —Terry Grier[10] | ||
Until an external audit has been completed, the requested money must remain untouched. The audit's release has come two weeks after Grier announced his resignation and one day after the head of the district's construction bond program accepted a job offer in Florida.
Superintendent resigns
HISD superintendent Dr. Terry Grier announced his resignation on September 10, 2015.[12] Regarding his decision, Grier told a press conference,
| “ | You can’t be superintendent in Houston forever, even though you might want to. You just simply can’t. Quite frankly, it’s just time. | ” |
| —Terry Grier (2015)[13] | ||
Grier also cited a knee replacement surgery and his aging father who has Alzheimer’s disease as reasons influencing his resignation. But not everyone believes his explanation. Breitbart explained,
| “ | A former Houston teachers union official chimed in, telling the local ABC affiliate she did not think it was a coincidence that Grier resigned hours after news broke of an internal audit possibly linking illegal activity to school construction projects. The audit uncovered that Houston ISD did not get board approval for several construction projects and they overpaid contractors. District officials said they will ask for their money back from overpaid contractors, and auditors asked the district to keep better tabs on spending, the Houston Chronicle reported. | ” |
| —Breitbart (2015)[13] | ||
Grier has been the superintendent of HISD since 2009. His resignation became effective on March 1, 2016, almost four months before his contract with the district would have come to an end.
Classroom overcrowding
In response to overcrowded classrooms, Houston ISD followed through in its guarantee to lower class sizes in elementary schools.[14] However, in doing so, the district may have also caused students to leave their closest campuses.
The board approved waivers for classes with enrollment above 22 students, which resulted in some students enrolling in schools far away because the closest ones were capped out due to a district policy. To alleviate the problem, superintendent Terry Grier's administration planned to cut waivers in half by adjusting school boundaries. But the school board voted down most of the plans. Despite this, waivers dropped by 42 percent, helping to stop students from having to attend schools far away from their family homes. School board President Rhonda Skillern-Jones was pleased with the waiver reduction but maintains that numbers are still too high.[14]
Ballotpedia survey responses
One out of thirteen candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Jose Leal.
Top priorities
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Leal stated:
| “ | I will make sure all share holders are working united to move forward our district and our community for the benefit of everyone. We must be together in this mission of improving our Houston community.[11] | ” |
| —Jose Leal (2015)[15] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidate's rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||
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| Issue | Leal | |
| Expanding arts education | ||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||
| Improving college readiness | ||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||
| Expanding school choice options | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the candidate's responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Houston Independent School District election in 2015:[16]
| Deadline | Event |
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| June 25, 2015 | Deadline to post notice of candidate filing deadline |
| July 25, 2015 | First day to file for place on general election ballot |
| August 24, 2015 | Last day to file for place on general election ballot |
| September 4, 2015 | First day to apply for ballot by mail |
| October 5, 2015 | Last day for voter registration with county clerk |
| October 19, 2015 | First day of early voting |
| October 23, 2015 | Last day to apply for ballot by mail |
| October 30, 2015 | Last day of early voting |
| November 3, 2015 | General election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Texas elections, 2015
In addition to school board elections, Houston voters elected a mayor, members of city council, a controller and Houston Community College System trustees.[17] Further, residents of Houston also decided on the anti-discrimination ordinance known as the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO).[18] Harris County voters also voted on several propositions.[19] Finally, Texas residents decided on seven statewide ballot measures.[20]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Houston Independent School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Houston Independent School District | Texas | School Boards |
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External links
- Houston Independent School District
- Harris County Clerk
- Harris County, Texas
- Texas Secretary of State
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Houston Independent School District, "HISD Board of Education Election Results," accessed December 2, 2015
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "Board of Trustees," accessed January 29, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Houston Independent School District, "Election Information," accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Harris County, Texas," accessed October 16, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed October 16, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Harris County," accessed December 31, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2015 Election Dates," accessed January 20, 2015
- ↑ ABC 13 Eyewitness News, "HISD dealing with $211 million shortfall for bond projects", accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 ABC 13 Eyewitness News, "Audit: HISD'S inflation claims as cause for $211M shortfall are false", accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Houston Chronicle, "Grier, auditor clash over HISD bond audit findings", accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Houston Public Media, "Houston Superintendent Terry Grier: 'It's Just Time' To Step Down", accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Breitbart, "Houston school district superintendent suddenly resigns", accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Houston Chronicle, "Houston ISD reduces class-size waivers by 40 percent", accessed October 16, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, 2015, Jose Leal's responses, October 19, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Important 2015 Election Dates", accessed September 24, 2015
- ↑ City of Houston, "November 3, 2015 General Election Candidates", accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ City of Houston, "Equal Rights Ordinance," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ Harris County Clerk, "Sample Ballot", accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Sample Ballot," accessed September 22, 2015
