HISD holding off on proposed budget cuts

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

Ahead of a June transition to a board on managers upon the Texas Education Agency’s takeover of the district, Houston Independent School District is holding off on proposed budget cuts and making changes to its proposed budget for the 2023-2024 school year.

The announcement came during an April 13 board meeting in which superintendent Millard House II said the district would be “pressing pause” on several proposed cuts that had been proposed and would have saved the district more than $40 mil- lion. “I’ve heard loud and clear that the will of the board is to not move forward with any campus-level budget reductions,” House said during the meeting.

The most significant cut that is now no longer being proposed would have been taking away the district’s ADA harmless provision that protected campuses from having funds reduced due to lowered enrollment. HISD’s enrollment has decreased by about 5,000 students since last year, and by roughly 31,000 since 2017 according to House. It began as a state provision during the COVID-19

City announces initiative to remove dangerous buildings

By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com

A city of Houston initiative that aims to take down buildings deemed as presenting a danger to public safety kicked off last week.

On April 15, Mayor Sylvester Turner and other city officials kicked off the city’s 2023 demolition initiative, which the city said is aimed at removing 300 buildings citywide that the city’s department of inspections have deemed as dangerous by the end of the year.

“My top priority to ensure that our neighborhoods are safe and livable,” Turner said in a news release. “This means tackling the problem of abandoned buildings that degrade our neighborhoods, harbor vagrancy and crime, and pose real safety concerns for residents.”

Contributed photo